When Reality Strikes
by Chicky3200
Summary: (chapter 28 added 3-7-05)What happens when your dream man is the Undertaker and reality sets in that he's not what you thought? Do you take a chance and find out what the man known as the Phenom is all about?
1. When Reality Strikes part 1

Title: When Reality Strikes  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own the Superstars but with Christmas on the way I have my fingers crossed.  
  
I can't believe this weekend has finally arrived. I'm going to Wrestlemania. As I get on the line to check in I can't help but want to jump up and down with excitement. " You know Erica you should really cut down on the sugar." I turn around and stick my tongue out at my best friend Amber. " Please you are just as excited as I am. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity. And think about it Sunday morning we have that very special autograph session followed by breakfast with the superstars." She just laughs at me and nudges me to go forward. Once we check in we decide to go downstairs to the conference room to get our tickets. When we get down there we see there are already quite a number of people waiting.  
  
Amber pokes me in the side and points to a man in the corner dressed up as Hulk Hogan. " Gee there goes your future husband now." I smack her on the arm and get on line. " Very funny jackass. I guess you have forgotten but our seats are in my name. Good luck getting in on Sunday." She starts to pout at me and I turn my head laughing. Once we get up to the table I tell the lady my name and she hands me the envelope containing my tickets. " Um I don't mean to be a pest but do you know who will be at the autograph signing tomorrow?" The woman consults with the man next to her. " I'm sorry, every hour it keeps changing so I don't want to name someone and then you will be disappointed." I thank her and walk away.  
  
Amber suggests we go have some dinner in the hotel's restaurant. Once we are seated we start talking about this weekend's events. " So you never told me what you've decided to wear tomorrow? Please tell me its not slutty." I glare at her and take a sip of my wine. " For your information I am wearing a pair of jeans and a v-neck shirt." Amber raises her eyebrow at me. " V-neck hmm all the better to see down your shirt right?" I toss my napkin at her. " I hate you sometimes, I really do." When I notice Amber's attention is not on me I turn around in my seat to see what she is staring at. I try not to spit out my wine when I see the Undertaker standing at the bar and at a table behind him is a group of WWE superstars. When Amber pinches me I turn back to her. " What the hell was that for?"  
  
Amber points over my shoulder. " I was trying to get your attention. I think you should go over to him." I start laughing and flip my hair over my shoulder. " Ok no more wine for you tonight. I could just picture it now I walk over to him. Hey nice to meet you Mr. Undertaker or should I just call you Mark? Anyway I've had the hots for you for a very long time and all I have to say is my room number is 2025. Then he can laugh in my face and I can come back over here wishing I was dead." Amber is holding her sides by this point. " Oh my god stop it, if I laugh any more I think I may pee my pants. Please Erica we both know you have more self control then that. Why don't you just go say hi? You know you want to."  
  
I sit there for a minute thinking it over. I seriously doubt he will flip out if I just go say hi and tell him I am a fan. I mean if I was famous it would make me feel good if people told me they liked me. I stand up and fix my shirt. " Ok I'm going in. Wish me luck." Amber holds up her wine glass in salute. As I head over to the table I see another woman already heading in that direction. She's dressed in a black leather mini skirt and a top so low I think she may fall out of it any second. I decide to head over to the bar till she is done talking so they all won't feel overwhelmed. As I lean against the bar I can hear their conversation. I look in the mirror behind the bar so I can see what's going on behind me. I laugh when the woman leans on the table giving all of them a nice glimpse of her cleavage. When the bartender walks by I ask him for another glass of wine so I have something to do while I pass the time.  
  
The woman tells the guys she is a big fan and is very excited about Wrestlemania. I notice she keeps giving little sly glances at Brock Lesnar. She asks them if they could possibly give her autographs. Glenn reaches out to take the pen and paper she has when Mark yells at him. " We're having dinner. If she can't wait till we're done then that's her problem. Besides from the way she is glancing at Lesnar I doubt all she wants is an autograph." The woman looks so embarrassed my heart goes out to her. She apologizes to all of them and quickly walks away. Glenn starts yelling at Mark telling him he is being rude for no reason all the lady asked for was an autograph. I walk back to my table so I don't hear the rest of their fight. Amber looks at me when I walk back. " That was fast, you didn't even go over to him." I shake my head and tell her I don't want to talk about it right now. A little part of me can't help but feel let down. I just found out that in reality my dream man is a total asshole. 


	2. When Reality Strikes part 2

Title: When Reality Strikes  
  
The next morning I stand in front of the mirror checking out my outfit. I don't know what Amber is talking about it doesn't look slutty. When I hear a knock at the door I just swing it open. " So Erica have you finally gotten over your crappy mood from last night? Don't think I haven't forgotten you haven't told me what happened." I glare at her and go to grab my bag. " I told you I didn't want to talk about it so let's go before we're late and miss everything."  
  
We take the elevator down to the conference room from last night where the signing would take place. After that we would be having breakfast in one of the ballrooms. As we stand on line I look for the woman from last night and when I don't see here I realize she must not have wanted to be embarrassed again. I can't believe he ruined her weekend. As the line starts to move forward I hear whispers of which superstars are here. So far I heard Triple H, Stone Cold, Brock, Trish, Lita, Chris Jericho, Ric Flair, Kane and lastly the Undertaker. Great now I have to pretend to be happy to see him. Amber turns around. " Did you hear what that guy said? The Undertaker is here. You can finally talk to him." I smile weakly at her and try to figure out a way not to curse him out when I see him.  
  
Before we know it we are at the head of the line. For a brief few minutes I just enjoy meeting everyone and shaking their hands until I reach the end of the line. Amber is getting her poster signed by Mark and I am standing in front of Glenn. " It's very nice to meet you. I'm a big fan." Glenn shakes my hand and thanks me for coming. Right before Amber walks away from Mark she looks at me and winks. " Oh before I go. My friend here she thinks you're the greatest superstar ever. She's just too much of a wuss to tell you." Amber gives me one last glance and walks away. If looks could kill she would already be hitting the floor dead. " So is what your friend said true? Am I really your favorite?"  
  
Any other time and I would of about just melted but after last night I just give him a cool glance. " My friend didn't get much sleep last night so she must have had you confused with someone else." Mark looks me up and down checking me out. " Are you sure about that darlin? Maybe I can do something to change your mind." Great now he's flirting with me when I am supposed to hate him. Just stay strong. " No I think you've done enough and my mind is made up." I grab my poster away from him and rush off to catch up with Amber. As I walk away I can feel his eyes on me.  
  
Once we get to the ballroom we find our place cards and sit at our designated table. Five more people sit at our table and we all introduce ourselves. A short time later Stephanie McMahon gets on a microphone to thank all of us for coming. She says through out the breakfast there will be give-a-ways for special WWE merchandise. Then she says in a few minutes some Superstars will be coming in and you will have two Superstars join you for breakfast. As soon as I hear this I get a sick feeling of dread in the pit of my stomach. I glance at Amber and she keeps giving me coy little looks.  
  
" So what happened when I walked away? Did you fall at his feet and tell him he's your God?" I take a sip of my water and lean towards her. " No I can actually say I didn't. In fact he was the one flirting with me. But I decided I just wasn't interested." Amber's mouth drops open and I can't help but think of a fish when you pull it out of the water. " What do you mean you weren't interested? Ok who are you and where is my best friend?" I shake my head laughing. " Listen I will explain to you why I'm not interested ok? Last night when I went over to say hi that woman beat me too it. Anyway she asked for their autographs and he totally blew up at her and embarrassed her. That's no way to treat a fan. I understand they enjoy their privacy but without fans he will have all the privacy he could need when Vince would fire his ass. So I'm still a little pissed about it ok?" She nods her head at me and tells me she thinks he's an asshole too.  
  
She grabs my hand. " I am really sorry about this Erica. I know he was like your idol." I pat her hand. " It's all right Amber, reality had to set in sometime." We sit there for a few minutes getting to know the other people at our table. Stephanie gets back on the mic saying the Superstars will join us all at our table soon. Sure enough a few minutes later they all start to trickle in and I watch as they head off to different tables. That's when I notice Mark and Glenn haven't showed up yet. Then I glance to my left and see the sit next to me is empty. Ok god this is not one of the times to play a joke on me.  
  
I close my eyes right tight, praying and hoping I don't see anyone with tattoos sit next to me. " Is this seat taken?" I glance up and smile when I see its Glenn. " Nope, in fact I think this seat may have your name on it." As he goes to sit down Mark comes up behind him. " Sorry buddy I think your seat is the one across the table. This seat has my name written all over it." Glenn looks like he is going to protest but instead walks over to the other side of the table and sits down. He shots me an apologetic smile. Once Mark sits down he leans over to whisper in my ear. " Looks like we meet again darlin." 


	3. When Reality Strikes part 3

Authors Note: If you all could do me a favor and click on my name to head to my bio, and vote for me at the link I have there. The two stories I have up to vote on are It's My Time and It's Just A Crush. Thanks.  
  
Title: When Reality Strikes  
  
" Yeah I guess we do meet again. I feel like the luckiest woman in the room. Thank you ever so much for gracing me with your presence." My answer gets the reaction I wanted. I swear I could almost hear him growl at me. " You know most woman would be happy to have me pay attention to them." I smile at him. " Then by all means go find them." With that said I turn back to Amber dismissing him from the conversation. I look over at Glenn and can see he witnessed what just went down. He winks at me and I smile. Our food arrives and everyone sits there eating. I actually enjoy the silence. The other people at our table take up most of Mark and Glenn's time, which is fine with me.  
  
Like promised through out the breakfast Stephanie would make announcements of the winners of the raffles. Amber was so excited when she won a Wrestlemania gift bag filled with shirts, hats, and a bunch of other stuff. As the breakfast was drawing to a close I knew it was driving Mark nuts that I wasn't paying attention to him. When he taps me on the shoulder I look at him. " I'm sorry can't you see that I'm eating? If you can't wait till I'm done then I guess whatever you have to say isn't important." Before I can go back to my breakfast Mark snaps his fingers. " I knew I had seen you somewhere. You were up at the bar last night. I'm also guessing you heard what I said to that woman. Well she should of known better then to bother people while they're eating." Oh that's it, now I'm pissed.  
  
" Listen here buddy, you have some nerve. Without fans like her then you wouldn't have a job. All she asked for was an autograph and you blew up on her. You could of just asked her politely to come back when you were done instead you decided to be an asshole. Damn it Amber why do you keep smacking my arm?" I turn away from Mark and glare at Amber. She is practically jumping up and down in her seat. " You won, oh my god you won." Before I can ask what I've won she is pushing me out of my seat and I walk up to Stephanie.  
  
Stephanie congratulates me on winning and hands me my prize. I look down in my hands and see two backstage passes to Wrestlemania. Oh shit no wonder Amber was flipping out. When I head back to the table I see that Mark and Glenn are getting ready to leave. Mark just glares hatefully at me and walks away. Glenn comes over to me and shakes my hand. " Congratulations on winning. I guess I will see you tonight. Oh by the way I am really impressed on how you stood up to him. Not many people have the balls to stand up to him. I'm his best friend and sometimes I'm even afraid to talk to him. Well I guess I better get going. See you later."  
  
As he walks away Amber snatches the passes out of my hand. " Holy shit, we're heading backstage. Come on we have to go shopping for new outfits for tonight." Amber grabs my hand and pulls me out of the room. We spend the whole afternoon shopping and I still hadn't found an outfit. Finally in the last store I step out of the dressing room and head over to the three-way mirror. I have on a pair of black hip hugger pants and a red corset. I like how my black hair contrasts with the red. Amber walks over with a pair of boots for me. I put them on and I go from 5'4 to 5'7. "Amber I may fall over and kill myself with these boots." She just laughs at me. " Honey we all have to suffer to look beautiful. Now don't go getting all pissed with me. When you get mad your eyes turn from hazel to practically black and that scares the shit out of me."  
  
I go back and change into my regular clothes. I decide to buy the whole outfit and Amber finally tells me we can go back to the hotel to rest. I fall back onto the bed when we return. " I am going to take a nap. Leave me alone till I have to get ready." No sooner do I say this then I'm fast asleep. A short time later Amber is shaking me awake. " Come on lazy ass you have to get ready or we are going to be late." I stumble into the bathroom and hurriedly get dressed. I throw on some black eye liner and lip- gloss. I leave my hair down so it falls around my shoulders. "All right I'm ready let's go." We grab our stuff and hurry out of the room.  
  
Once we get to MSG we go inside and ask how we get backstage. We show the security guard our backstage passes and he instructs us to follow him. Once we get backstage its like pure chaos. Amber clutches onto my arm. " I can't believe we're here. Pinch me I think I'm dreaming." I pinch her and she smacks me. " Hey I was just doing as you asked." We don't know what to do so we just stay on the sidelines so we don't get in anyone's way. When I feel a tap on my shoulder I turn around and smile when I see Glenn. " I can see you've made it back here ok. I've just realized we've never been properly introduced. I'm Glenn." I shake his hand and tell him my name and Amber does the same. " Listen I'm heading down to the cafeteria to eat. Have you guys had dinner yet?" We shake our heads no. "All right then follow me."  
  
We follow him down to the cafeteria and join him on the line to get our food. Glenn tells us to follow him as he heads off to a table. As we get closer I see he is going to sit with Triple H, Mick Foley, Kevin Nash, Shawn Michaels, and of course Mark. The guys all look up at us as we approach. I notice the seat next to Mark is empty so I decide its time for a little payback. As Glenn goes to sit down I go over to him. "I'm so sorry Glenn but I think this seat right here has my name written all over it." Glenn starts laughing at me and goes to sit next to Kevin. I sit down and look at Mark. Judging by his face he is still pissed about this afternoon. So I decide to play with him a little bit. " You know we really have to stop meeting like this." 


	4. When Reality Strikes part 4

Title: When Reality Strikes  
  
I laugh when he just grunts at me and goes back to eating. Triple H leans over the table to extend his hand. " I'm Paul it's nice to meet you." I shake his hand and smile. "I'm Erica and sitting next to you is my friend Amber. We're very happy to be here." The rest of the guys introduce themselves and Amber and I sit there in awe for a few minutes watching them. After we're done eating Glenn offers to show us around. We gladly accept because I want to get away from Mark. Glenn takes us around backstage introducing us to different people then offers to take us to his locker room. As we step inside I notice another bag on the floor. " Please tell me you aren't sharing a room with that blockhead?"  
  
Before Glenn can answer Mark walks in from the bathroom. Mark walks over to us and holds out his hand. "I'm sorry I don't think we've been introduced I'm the blockhead." I just laugh at him and go sit on the couch. " Sorry to disappoint you but if you thought I was going to be embarrassed then you have the wrong woman." Mark starts muttering under his breath and starts digging in his bag. The rest of us sit down and talk and only look up when Mark starts yelling. " Damn it I can't find my friggin appointment book and I have no idea where my plane ticket is." Before we can say anything to him he slams out of the room.  
  
I look at Glenn and he is shaking his head. " I swear that man needs someone to follow him around. Every week he loses something or forgets where he has to be." I glance at Amber and shake my head no at her but obviously she doesn't listen. " Erica here is the best personal assistant you could ask for. Her boss treats her like crap. He almost didn't let her come this weekend. She would be perfect." Glenn looks at her then at me with this evil grin on his face. " Hmm that sounds like a great idea. You did put Mark in his place so Erica want me to go to talk to Vince for you?" I place my hand on his arm to stop him from getting up. " I didn't come here tonight trying to get myself for a job. I'm not that kind of woman. I would prefer if you didn't bring this up to anyone especially Mark."  
  
Glenn shakes his head in agreement. " All right I won't say anything." Mark storms back into the room a few minutes later and I take that as our cue to leave. Before we leave Glenn makes us promise to come backstage later in the night. We agree and head out to find out seats. All through the pay-per- view Amber and I cheer our asses off. When Glenn comes out dressed as Kane we stand on our seats. Later on when Mark comes out for the main event I just sit in my seat refusing to cheer. Before we know it the night is over and both of our voices are hoarse. We rush backstage so we don't miss Glenn. When we find him he is talking with Vince.  
  
As we walk over I have a bad feeling. " Here she is boss this is the girl I've been talking to you about." I narrow my eyes at Glenn and he tries to look all innocent. Vince holds out his hand. "It's very nice to meet you Mr. McMahon." He smiles at me. "Please call me Vince and what's your name?" Before I can answer a stagehand comes over to tell Vince they are starting to take everything down for the night. When he walks away Vince looks at me. " My name is Erica Anderson and this is my friend Amber Martin." Vince looks me over for a second.  
  
" So how old are you Erica?" I laugh at his question. " I know I look young but I'm 25 sir." Vince laughs at my response. "Well I've heard from Glenn here that you handled the deadman pretty well. Mark is in desperate need of a personal assistant; he just doesn't know it yet. Would you be interested in the job? We could try you out on a trial basis. If it doesn't work out then you walk away with pretty much a paid vacation." I take a minute to think it over. My dream has always been to work for the WWE and I've always wanted to travel. On the down side I would have to deal with Mark. Vince must sense my hesitation. " Erica I can assure you your pay will be double what you make now." Damn he sure knows where to hit the hardest, in the wallet.  
  
" If I were to accept this job I would need a few days to get my affairs in order." Vince tells me that's no problem. " How about I give you five days to get everything ready? Then I will send you a plane ticket to meet us in the town we are in and we can have a meeting to discuss everything that Mark will be doing that week so you can make sure everything goes smoothly." I tell him that's fine and shake his hand. He hands me a card and tells me to call the office tomorrow morning to give them all of my information. When he walks away I turn to Glenn and start hitting him in the chest. " I thought I told you I didn't want you saying anything. Do you have any idea how bad this is going to look? I show up for one night and all of a sudden I have a job?"  
  
" Erica calm down. No one is going to say anything to you and if they do I will take care of it all right. Now go home and start getting ready. I will see you in five days. Trust me get as much rest as you can get because once you start with this company your always on the go. It was nice meeting you Amber." Glenn waves and walks down the hall. I turn to Amber and she starts freaking out. " I can't believe he got you a job that's so awesome. I'm so happy for you."  
  
Five days later  
  
As I pull up to the arena in my rental I take a minute to think back over the past few days. I told my boss I quit and he threw a fit but I didn't care. I had to promise Amber I would call as much as I could. It only took me about two days to get everything ready and I used the rest of the time freaking out about having to work with Mark. I pull my pass out of my bag. It had come in the envelope with the rest of my paperwork. I had already looked over Mark's itinerary and just needed to ask him and Vince a few questions.  
  
I walk in past security and ask for directions to Vince's office. When I knock on the door Vince answers it himself. " Glad to see you got here ok." He turns back to talk to the person in the room. " Well your personal assistant is here. I think you two will get along famously." As I step into the room Mark stands up out of his chair and glares at me then at Vince. " Oh hell no. I want her gone and I want her gone now." Well things are off to a great start. 


	5. When Reality Strikes part 5

Title: When Reality Strikes  
  
As Vince opens his mouth to yell at Mark I jump in first. " Listen here jackass, it's not going to be some picnic in the park working with you either. But I'm a professional and I thought you were too. I'm here on a trial basis so just think about it. I will only be here for a short time and if things don't work out then I'm gone from your life for good." Mark practically shoots daggers at me with his eyes but I refuse to back down. Mark then glances at Vince. " How long is her trial basis?" Vince thinks it over for a second. " I think one month should be enough time to see if Erica will work out or not."  
  
" I don't like it but I am a professional so I will learn to deal with her." As he said he was a professional he made a point of looking at me and I just smirked back at him. Vince claps his hands together. " Good now that that's all settled we can get down to business." Mark and I take seats in front of Vince's desk. " Erica did you look over the temporary contract I gave you?" I lean down and pull it out of my bag. " I've already signed it." I hand it over to him and Vince places it in his desk. " Well now that's taken care of we can go over Mark's schedule."  
  
For the next hour we all sit there and take care of business. As soon as Vince says we can leave Mark takes off charging out of the room. Vince motions for me to stay behind. " I just want to tell you how impressed I am that you know your stuff. Mark has been known to be a pain in the ass and if he threatens to fire you don't listen to him. I am the only one who can fire anyone around here including him. So if he yells at you then yell right back and don't worry about the consequences ok?" I shake his hand and thank him. Then I take off out of the room in search of my new client.  
  
I ask for directions to his locker room and set off down the hallway. I knock before I go in and when I hear Glenn instead of Mark call out I open the door. " I totally forgot you guys share a room. How have you been Glenn?" Glenn comes over to give me a hug and that's when Mark decides to walk into the room. " I should have realized this is how you got your job. You did seem buddy-buddy with Glenn that night. For him to get you a job then you must be a hell of a good lay." Glenn lets me go and takes a step towards him. " Glenn don't bother. Mark is just jealous because when he made a pass at me I turned him down." Little does Mark know that when he did make that pass it took all of my self control to say no.  
  
I go over to sit on the couch and pat the space next to me so Glenn can sit down. Mark goes to sit down but I shake my finger at him. " Sorry big guy but you have a personal appearance to make so I suggest you go make yourself all pretty for the fans." Glenn busts loose laughing and I just stare at Mark. He opens his mouth to say something but grabs his bag and walks into the bathroom. Glenn starts clapping his hands and I turn to look at him. " That was priceless. I've never seen him so speechless. Listen I am sorry about what he said when he walked in and if you want I will talk to him." I wave it off. " Glenn don't worry about it so he thinks we slept together, hell that's quite the compliment. I think I would have been insulted if he thought I slept with Bischoff."  
  
We sit there for a few minutes and when I hear the bathroom door open again I don't bother turning around. I can sense him staring a hole in my back but I refuse to give him the satisfaction. "Hello? Little miss personal assistant I'm waiting." I get up off of the couch and grab my bag. " You can drop the formalities Mark and just call me Erica. I don't mind." I watch as he gets all red in the face and I bit my lip to keep from laughing. He walks towards the door and I follow. I turn to wave at Glenn before we leave.  
  
I take out my cell phone and call to make sure the driver is already outside waiting for us. When I had called the office to give them my information I made sure they gave me a contact sheet of the numbers I would need. When we get outside the driver opens the door and Mark climbs in first. I turn to the driver and wink. " Sorry you know how diva's can be. Their coffee is a little too cold and their whole day is ruined." The driver smiles at me and I climb in beside Mark. Once we take off out of the parking lot I pull out my notebook and start making some notes.  
  
I know Mark is dying to say something to me but I just keep on working. I pull out my cell phone to call the next town we are going to be in to book our rooms. I glance up at Mark and realize he had been staring at me. " Do you have a preference of a floor?" Mark thinks it over for a second. " Yes I think it would be nice to have a floor in my room." I blink my eyes in surprise did Mark actually make a joke? I tell the person on the phone a room on one of the top floors would be nice and hang up. " I'm impressed you do have a sense of humor. Congratulations."  
  
Before Mark can retort the car pulls to a stop. Mark steps out of the limo first and I hear all of the cheers. I follow out behind him into the building. I find the man in charge and ask him how many people are here. It says close to four hundred. I promise him Mark will do the best he can to sign for all of those people but the line has to be closed so no one else can get in. He nods his head and goes off to talk to his people. I walk over to Mark and see he is getting himself situated at the table. I lean down to whisper in his ear. " There are about 400 people waiting to see you, I had the manager stop the line so no one else is getting in. If at any time you need a break or when you want to leave you give me the signal and I will come over ok?" He doesn't turn to look at me but nods his head.  
  
I step back and watch him interact with the fans. I do have to give him this when he's being paid to be nice to the fans he does an amazing job. But I know the reality of what he is really like. Two hours pass and I can see he is getting a little tired. I grab a bottle of water and walk over to him. " Here drink this, do you need a break?" He glances over his shoulder at me. " Did I say I needed a break?" I bite my tongue and walk away. Fine he wants to be pig headed then let him. I'm not the one who has to wrestle tonight.  
  
Finally after the last autograph is signed he gets up and stretches. I can't help but stare at him as he does this. That man is fine as hell. He shakes hands with the manager and comes towards me. I had already called for the limo and walk outside. Once we are in the car I lean back. I had been standing the whole time watching over everything and now my back is killing me. " Don't tell me your tired all ready? You won't last a week." I open one eye and look at him. " This is the part of the day where we play the quiet game. Let's see who wins shall we?" I close my eyes again and try to relax. I jump up two minutes later when he puts the radio on full blast. I look over at him and he's smiling. " I guess I lost huh?" God help me this is going to be a long month. 


	6. When Reality Strikes part 6

Title: When Reality Strikes  
  
Once we get back to the arena I follow Mark down to catering. I get my plate of food and try to find a place to sit. Mark surprisingly didn't ask me to sit with him so I'm left to fend for myself. When I see Amy and Trish waving I turn around assuming they are waving at another diva. When I turn back around their pointing at me so I walk over to them. " Hi I'm Amy and this is Trish why don't you sit down and join us?" I happily sit down to join them. "Hi I'm a big fan of both of you. I've only had the chance to meet a few people so far. My name is Erica."  
  
" So I heard your Mark's new P.A. how has it been going? He has a reputation of being a little harsh." I start laughing at their worried expressions. " I think if you were to ask him what P.A. meant he would say pain in the ass but I'm handling the big guy pretty well so far." We all sit there for a while just chatting and its really nice. Trish leans over the table. " Listen I know you're new here so I don't want you to take offence to this but there are some rumors going around that you slept with Glenn for this job. After talking with you I don't think you're the type to sleep with a guy just for a job. Now on the other hand if you just slept with Glenn because you felt like it then all I have to say is you have great taste in men." We all start to laugh. "Well I'm glad you brought it up to me instead of just assuming. Some other people around here should learn not to jump to conclusions." Amy looks at me. " I'm guessing you mean by some people you mean Mark." I nod my head at her.  
  
"Anyway to set the record straight I won tickets backstage for Wrestlemania and my friend that was with me mentioned to Glenn how I am a personal assistant and he thought it would be a great idea if I worked with Mark. I told him not to say anything but I guess you've realized he didn't and here I am. As for sleeping with Glenn I haven't but if I had I wouldn't be complaining." When they both stop laughing I have a feeling why. " Let me guess The Lord of Darkness is behind me?" I made sure to say it loud enough so he would hear me. I wink at the girls and turn around in my seat to look at him. " Is there something I can assist you with?"  
  
" Once my match is over I want to leave so make sure all of my stuff is packed and in the car so we can leave. I am going to shower at the hotel." I look at him for a second then start laughing. " I'm sorry I think you must have me confused with someone. I'm your personal assistant not your servant. You don't order me around." I stand up out of my chair and glare up at him. " I'm your boss so you do as I say or I will fire you." I let out a little chuckle. " You can't do that." The look in his eyes is just daring for me to go on. " I can do whatever the hell I want." I poke him in the chest and he takes a step back. " The only person that can fire me is Vince McMahon and he has given me permission to yell at you if I see fit. And right now I sure as hell feel the need to yell. I am going to tell you how tonight is going to go down. You will have your match and then you will come back to the locker room and pack up your own stuff and you will also put it in the car. Then we will go to the hotel where you will also bring your bags up to your room yourself. Got it?"  
  
He is so red from anger right now that I think his head is going to explode into a million pieces. " Has anyone ever told you that you're a total bitch?" I flip my hair over my shoulder. "Honey I've been called a lot worse by men bigger then you and you know what I do to them?" He crosses his arms over his chest. " What?" I turn back to the girls for a second and tell them I will see them later then I turn back to Mark. " This is what I do." I stick both middle fingers in his face and walk away. I don't know who the hell he thinks he is but the last time I checked the name God doesn't come after Mark.  
  
I walk back to his locker room and go in. Luckily Glenn isn't in here so I sit on the couch to calm down. I start rubbing at my temples because I have a headache now. When the door slams against the wall five seconds later I groan. " Don't you ever talk to me like that again. Do you understand me?" I look up at Mark. " Have we not been through this? I'm not some woman that is going to fall at your feet and do as you say. I do my job and I do it well. If you don't like me personally deal with it, you don't see me bitching and moaning about how much I can't stand you. By the looks of it at the end of the trial basis you will make sure my ass is gone so can't you at least cut me some slack till then?" I close my eyes and lean back against the couch. It's been one day and I feel so emotionally drained. I'm not normally an angry bitchy person but he brings out the worst in me.  
  
I hear him sigh and I feel the couch dip as he sits down. " Can you look at me please?" I open my eyes and look at him. " All right I will make you a deal till the end of the month we both try to be on our best behavior. Once the month is up you leave gracefully. I will make sure Vince pays you well. We don't have to try and be friends. We work together and that's it. Deal?" I think it over for a second and lean over to shake his hand. How hard can it be right? As I shake his hand I can't help but feel as if I just made a deal with the devil. 


	7. When Reality Strikes part 7

Title: When Reality Strikes  
  
Once Mark's match is finished he returns to the locker room. I am sitting on the couch reading a book when he walks in. I have all of my stuff neatly piled by the door. The rest of his stuff is scattered all around the room. Glenn had already come and went so it was just the two of us. Mark starts grabbing his stuff and starts stuffing it in his bag. I get up and start picking up some of his clothes off of the floor. I fold them and hand them to him. He looks at me like I'm nuts. " Listen don't say anything ok? I'm just trying to be civil and wanted to help. It's not like I'm giving you a kidney so calm down. In fact let's never mention this happened ok?" He just laughs and goes back to packing.  
  
When he's done he picks up his bags and also grabs onto mine. " You don't have to do that." He motions with his head for me to open the door. As he strides past me he gives me a quick glance. " It's not a big deal remember?" I start laughing and follow him out of the room. Once we get outside he asks me where my car is. When I get to my car I unlock it and Mark places my bags in the backseat. " Do you know your way to the hotel?" I nod my head at him. " Are you sure?" I sigh and put my hands on my hips. " I managed to get to the arena all by myself didn't I? I think I can find my way to a hotel that is three miles away." Mark laughs again and I can't help the shiver that runs through me when I hear it.  
  
" I will see you at the hotel then ok?" I salute him and get into my car. Sure enough a few minutes later I am pulling into the hotel's parking lot. I go into the lobby with my luggage and check in. I ask if Mark has gotten there yet but they say he hasn't arrived yet. I sit down in the lobby and wait. A half hour goes by and still no Mark I start getting worried. As I go to pull out my cell phone to call him he comes walking in the door. I get up and walk over to him. " What happened?" He ignores me and walks off. I wait till he is checked in then go after him again. " Hello? I am speaking to you. What happened?" Mark heads off to the elevator and I rush to grab my bags and follow him. Once we're in the elevator I just stare at him. Just as I think he isn't going to speak he opens his mouth. " I got lost."  
  
I start laughing so hard I drop my bags. " I'm sorry, I thought I heard you just say you got lost?" When he shoots me a death glare I crack up even more. By the time the elevator stops at our floor I am leaning against the wall holding my sides. When the doors open I start brushing at the tears streaming down my face. Mark grabs his bags and walks off the elevator. He walks into his room before I can say anything. I go down to my room and drop off my bags then I go back down to his room. When I knock he swings the door open. " Sorry to bother you. I just wanted to know what time you wanted to leave for the airport tomorrow?" Mark asks what time the flight is and I tell him 9. " Ok then I guess I will meet you down in the lobby at 7:30 ok?" I nod my head at him and go to walk away. Before I do that I look back at him. " Oh just so I know. Will you need any help finding the lobby tomorrow morning?" As soon as Mark takes a step towards me I run off down to my room laughing all the way.  
  
The next morning I make sure I am down in the lobby promptly at 7:30. Mark comes strolling along a few minutes after me. We both head out to our cars and pack up. " Well do you know you're way to the airport or do you want to follow me?" When he starts to growl at me I jump in my car and head off. When we get to the airport we both return our rentals. I send Mark ahead to the gate and check us in. I stop at a stand to get us some coffee and I buy myself a magazine for the plane ride. When I get to the gate I see he is sitting with some of the guys. I walk over to him and hand him his coffee. " I thought maybe this would wake you up. I will see you on the flight." As I turn to walk away Glenn calls out to me. " Why don't you sit with us? That way we can all get to know you better." Before I can answer Mark goes and opens his big mouth.  
  
" Glenn I think you know Erica pretty well don't ya? You know what she likes in bed so who cares what her favorite color is?" All of the guys get quiet real fast. I glare at Mark so much for our truce. When I feel a hand on my arm I turn and see its Amy. " Why don't you come sit with us girls? There's too much testosterone over here." I nod at her and follow her back to where some of the other divas were sitting. When I sit down Trish leans over to pat my arm. " I don't know what's gotten into him. He's usually not this big of an asshole." I try to shake it off. " It's ok really because he has forgotten one simple thing. No matter how hard he tries I am a bigger bitch then he is an asshole. So he will pay and he is going to pay dearly." 


	8. When Reality Strikes part 8

Title: When Reality Strikes  
  
As we board the plane I don't spare Mark another glance. I sit down in my seat and wait for him to join me. Lucky me I get to sit next to him for five hours. When I see his big ass walking down the aisle I pull out my magazine and start reading. We sit quietly through take-off and I think maybe the flight won't be so bad if he keeps his mouth shut. That is until he grabs my magazine out of my hands. "What the hell is your problem?" I stare at him in shock. " My problem? You're the one that seems to have already forgotten our truce. Listen to me and listen good. I agreed to try and be civil to you for the rest of this month. I gave you my word and that means something to be. Obviously your word means shit so at least I know that now. I was going to go easy on you but now that you've crossed me you better prepare for a month of hell. By the end of this month I am going to have you begging for an injury that will keep you out for a few months just so you can get away from me. Now give me my goddamn magazine back right now."  
  
I guess Mark is a little shocked by my outburst so I use it to my advantage and grab my magazine out of his hands. I go back to reading and do my best to ignore him. When the flight attendant asks us if we need anything, Mark orders a shot of Jack Daniels. I hide my smile behind my magazine. Wow I'm good; I've already pushed him to drinking at ten in the morning. About hour three into our flight I reach down and pull out my book I have all of my information in. I glance at Mark's calendar for the week and decide well it looks just a little too bare. I think once we land I am going to have to make some calls and make sure his week is busy as can be. I actually giggle out loud and that's when he turns to me. " What do you find so amusing?" I look up at him and smile. "Oh nothing, nothing at all."  
  
A few minutes later I see a piece of paper slide between our seats. I turn around to grab it and that's when I hear Paul. " It's a note from Trish. I feel like I'm in junior high. If that note says do you like me circle yes or no I think I may scream." I start laughing and grab the paper. When I open it I try to muffle my laughing. Trish had drawn a picture of Mark falling out of the plane. On the bottom she asks me if I want to go out with a bunch of them tonight. I write back and slip it back through the seats. When I feel Paul grab it I come up with an idea. I grab a piece of paper and write another note. I write Paul's name on it and push it between the seats again.  
  
Two seconds later I hear his loud laughter behind me. Then I see the note come back through. I open it and smile. I had asked him if he liked me to circle yes or no. He circled yes with a heart around it and asked me to be his girlfriend. He says he will meet me by the swing set after school. I notice Mark leaning over in his seat to see what the note says so I turn towards the window so he can't see. I grab my pen and write back to Paul saying I will be his girlfriend and since I'm his girlfriend I need for him to beat up the school bully. He's sitting next to me right now. I slip the note back through and wait for a reply. I get it a few minutes later.  
  
I actually get tears in my eyes from trying to hold in the laugh that wants to come out. I guess it's too much for Mark. " What the hell is so damn funny?" I take a second to calm myself. " Actually it's not really funny. Paul just broke up with me. He says he's a lover not a fighter and he's afraid of the school bully. So we broke up. I think I need a tissue." Mark shakes his head and tells me he is going to sit next to Glenn. I wave to him as he leaves. A minute later Paul takes his place. "I'm really sorry but I just had to break up with you. It's me not you." I start laughing at him and smack his arm. " Hey I'm glad I could make you laugh. What Mark said to you at the airport was totally uncalled for. When Mark was out of ear shot Glenn explained to us that nothing happened between the two of you. Well all agreed not to say anything to Mark so he makes himself look like an ass. It's not everyday we get to pull something on the deadman."  
  
When we hear a cough we look up and see Mark. " Do you think I could have my seat back? Or do the two of you want to be alone?" Paul winks at me and gets up. " Oh Erica you are coming out with all of us tonight right?" I nod my head at him. " Good I'll buy you a drink if you promise to save me a dance." I tell him it's a deal and he goes back to sit behind us. Mark sits down and looks at me. " I don't think Glenn is going to be too happy to hear you're already making plans with another guy." God he is still stuck on this idea. " Its ok Mark, Glenn and I have a very open relationship." I see something flicker in his eyes but it can't be what I think it is. Could it be that the American Bad Ass is jealous? Nah can't be. 


	9. When Reality Strikes part 9

Title: When Reality Strikes  
  
Once we land Mark goes off to get his luggage and I go get our rental. I don't see a reason for us to get two cars. When I get the keys I go find Mark and he is standing by the luggage carousel. I notice only his luggage is there. " Where's my luggage?" He shrugs his shoulders at me. "I'm not your servant so maybe you should go ask your boy toy where they are." Instead of saying anything to him I go and grab my luggage off of the carousel. I take my stuff and walk off towards the exit. I look over my shoulder and see Mark is following behind me. Once I locate the car in the lot I throw my stuff in the trunk and climb into the drivers seat. As Mark goes to open the door I lock the doors. I can tell by the look on his face that he's pissed.  
  
He walks over to my window and I push the button for it to go down. " This isn't funny Erica. Open the damn doors." I put the radio on and put the car in reverse. I pull out of the spot. Mark backs up so I pull up right next to him. "Oh I'm sorry I'm not your chauffeur. Good luck getting to the hotel." With that said I pull out of the parking lot leaving behind a fuming Phenom. I know once he catches up with me later I'm in for it but honestly who the hell cares.  
  
When I get to the hotel I check in and bring my stuff upstairs. I take a walk downstairs to the front desk and ask them for some numbers that I need. As I am doing this I see Mark stroll in with Glenn. I try not to make eye contact but I know he's already spotted me. He marches over to me and I tell the clerk thank you and try to run off but he's too fast. He grabs my upper arm and pulls me with him. " Let me go you dumbass." Stupid move on my part calling him a name because he just increases the pressure on my arm and I am positive I am going to have a bruise later on. I wince and bite my lip from whimpering. " Do you think that stunt you pulled was funny? Luckily I ran into Glenn and he gave me a ride. As soon as I check in I am going to call Vince and tell him I want you gone."  
  
" Damn it Mark let her go. Can't you see you're hurting her?" Mark looks up at Glenn then at me and I guess he can see the pain in my eyes because he releases me. Glenn comes over and pulls the sleeve of my shirt up. You can see where his fingerprints are and the skin is already bruising. " What the hell is wrong with you?" Mark looks like he is sorry but keeps his mouth shut. Glenn starts fussing over me and I tell him to stop it. " It's fine, I'm fine, don't worry about it." I pull the car keys out of my pocket and hand them to Mark. " Here you take the car, I have some things I need to do so I will take a cab to the arena. I acted very unprofessionally and for that I'm sorry."  
  
I know deep down I should have never let my personal feelings get involved so I guess I deserve his temper right now. As I walk off to the elevator I start rubbing my arm. It hurts like a son of a bitch. Once I get back into my room I put on a tank top and go look in the mirror. The bruise looks pretty ugly. I walk back into the room and decide I have some calls to make. As I hang up from my last call I hear a knock on the door. I assume its Glenn coming to check on me. Imagine my surprise when I see Mark. " Um can I come in for a second?" I nod my head and step aside. I go sit on my bed and look at him. "What time does my flight leave?" Mark looks at me strangely. " What do you mean what time does your flight leave?"  
  
" Well I figure you've probably spoken to Vince by now and I'm out of the job on day two might I add. So I figure my flight home must be today." Mark pulls up the chair from the desk and sits in front of me. "I didn't call Vince. Actually I've been in my room with Glenn for the past half hour getting yelled at." I blink in surprise. " Glenn told me the two of you didn't sleep together and that you didn't even want him to ask Vince about the job. He said the only reason he told me all of this was because he was sick of seeing me treating you like some kind of whore. Then he started yelling at me for putting my hands on you. I am really sorry for that. It's just that you got me so mad all I saw was red and I didn't realize I was hurting you."  
  
I just keep staring at him speechless. " Listen I don't say this very often and if you tell anyone about this I will just deny I said it but I am sorry. I really and truly am sorry for the way I've been treating you. I want to try and finish this month out and see where it goes ok?" I nod my head at him. " We already made a truce once how am I supposed to know you won't break it again?" Mark runs his hand through his short hair. " If I break my promise you can have Glenn kick the shit out of me ok?" I shake my head no. " I won't need Glenn to hurt you because I will do it myself got it?" Mark smiles at me and holds out his hand. I just stare at it for a second before I place my hand in his. I jump when I feel a shock. I look up at him and he looks like he felt the same thing.  
  
Mark gets up and walks into the bathroom. When he comes out he has a wet washcloth. "Put this on your arm. It will help stop the bruising. I am really sorry about this Erica." I look up at him. "That's the first time you've said my name in a nice way." Mark winks at me. " Well don't get used to it. Listen I've never put my hands on a woman before I really do feel horrible." I place my hand on his arm. " I believe you. It's just ironic that when I've thought about you with your hands on me it wasn't quite like this." Oh my god I said that out loud. I start to blush and turn my head away from Mark. He puts his hand under my chin and turns my head back towards him. " So you've thought about me touching you huh? That sounds like a very appealing idea to me." As Mark leans in to kiss me I freak out and jump off of the bed.  
  
" Listen we work together. It's not a good idea to be doing things like this. Hell we aren't even friends so um I, hell I don't know just don't kiss me." Mark laughs and walks towards me. "I make you nervous." He doesn't pose it as a question. He knows it's the truth. "Mark please leave it be. I have some calls to make so I will see you later ok?" Mark nods his head and walks towards the door. " Be ready at five to leave for the arena. I'm driving this time." I tell him ok and once he leaves I collapse on the bed. Then I smack myself on the forehead. He was going to kiss me and I stopped him just because we work together. When the hell did I get morals? 


	10. When Reality Strikes part 10

Title: When Reality Strikes  
  
Promptly at five Mark is knocking on my door. " Hi, let me just grab my bag and we can leave." I grab my bag with my clothes so I can change at the arena tonight before we all go out. Mark and I make it to the arena without incident. I follow him down to his locker room and when we walk in Glenn walks over to me. " Are you ok?" I smile at his concern. " I'm fine, all I had to do was threaten Mark and he apologized." Mark throws his bag on the floor and turns to face us. " Yeah you should have seen me man, I was shaking in my boots." We both laugh and I start to laugh even harder when I see the look of bewilderment on Glenn's face.  
  
"Glenn it's ok. Mark and I had a nice chat and I think things will be ok from now on. But I do appreciate you protecting me." I lean up and kiss his cheek and laugh when he blushes. I look back at Mark and can see he doesn't look too happy about something. I tell the boys I am off to get something to eat. When I get to the cafeteria I get my food and spot Paul sitting with Shawn and Kevin. " Do you guys mind if I sit with you?" Kevin gestures for me to sit next to him. "Well, if it isn't my ex-girlfriend. How are you handling the break-up?" I wink at Paul agreeing to play along. " To be honest with you even though we only had a very short amount of time together I think you've ruined me for all men. I'm actually dating Trish now."  
  
Kevin and Shawn both spit out their water and Paul and I laugh till we have tears streaming down our faces. "Yeah right, We've known Trish a long time, she doesn't swing that way." I shake my head that their wrong. Trish walks by the table and stops next to me. " We're still on for tonight right?" I tell her yes and she walks away. When I look back Kevin and Shawn's mouths are hanging open. As I get up to leave I turn back to them. " Told you so." And I walk away.  
  
When I get back to Mark's locker room I'm still chuckling to myself. "What's so funny?" I sit next to Mark on the couch. " Kevin and Shawn think I'm dating Trish." Mark gives me the same look they gave me. "It's just a joke but they don't know that yet so don't say anything. I'll explain later." Mark merely nods and goes back to lacing up his boots. I reach down into my bag and pull out my notebook. " I've been looking over your schedule for the week and I realize you don't do too many personal appearances. Is there a reason for this?" Mark leans back on the couch. " I'm not too keen on big groups. I'm more of a one on one type of guy. If you know what I mean." Mark leans towards me and starts to twirl a strand of my hair around his finger.  
  
I pull my legs under me so I'm kneeling on the couch and lean closer to him. I drop my voice to a husky whisper. "I'm so glad to hear that big guy." Just as Mark goes in for the kiss I pull away. "I'm so glad to hear that because I booked you an appearance at the Make-A-Wish foundation for Thursday. A little boy by the name of Adam has written to them and his wish is to meet his idol The Undertaker. Oh and tomorrow you are going to a children's hospital. I am going to see how many more of the guys I can get to go." Mark leans away from me and sits over on the other side of the couch. "That was a mean trick you just pulled teasing me like that."  
  
" You're a big boy you'll get over it." Mark lunges for me and I scramble off of the couch. Glenn picks that moment to walk back in. "Thank god you've saved me. I will see you boys later on. Oh and Mark I've already called and books the rooms for tomorrow" As I leave I grab my bag so I can change in the diva's locker room. I talk with the girls for a while and then we start to get ready. Trish helps me put some curl in my hair. I have on a pair of black leather pants and a white top that ties in the back. I throw on some shiny lip-gloss and announce I'm ready.  
  
When the show is over we meet up with the guys in the back. Paul comes over and wraps his arm around my shoulder. "Seeing you dressed up like that I think I may have to fight Trish to get you back." I poke him in the ribs and walk away. I go over to Glenn and Mark. "I'm assuming the two of you are coming out tonight too?" Glenn nods and Mark just stares at me. It's like I can feel him undressing me with his eyes. Lord it's hot in here. I tell the guys I'm driving over to the club with the girls.  
  
We all meet up inside the club and find a group of tables in the back together. Paul walks off to buy the first round of drinks. I find myself sitting between Randy Orton and Shawn. I find Randy is nothing like his onscreen personality. He's very sweet and respectful. Paul walks back with a few pitchers of beer and we all have a drink. I shoot Shawn and Kevin a glance when Trish pulls me out onto the dance floor. When a slow song comes on Paul walks over and tells me he's come to claim his dance.  
  
" You do realize Mark has been staring at you all night right?" I pull back and look at Paul. " He has not." Paul pulls me closer and laughs. " Yeah ok I'm lying and I'm also lying when I say I know you like knowing he's been staring at you." I pinch him on his arm and he yelps. " That's it dance over." We walk back to the table and I see the guys are giving Randy a hard time about something. " What seems to be the problem boys?" Kevin starts to explain to me. " Randy here went over to a group of girls to ask one of them to dance and he got shot down." I look at Randy and can see he is blushing.  
  
"What woman in her right mind would turn down a dance with you? I think it's time for a little pay back." I pull Randy out onto the dance floor with me during the next slow song. " Ok the girls have spotted us. I'm going to kiss you now, do you have a problem with that?" Randy smirks at me. " Oh I never have a problem when a sexy woman wants to kiss me. Hell let's forget those other girls and go back to the hotel right now." I start laughing at him and then I lean up and kiss him. Hot damn he's a great kisser. When I pull away I tell him to go back to the table till I give him the signal. When he walks away he smacks my ass and I turn to glare at him, which then turns into a smile.  
  
I walk over to the bar and pretend to be waiting for a drink. I notice the girls are looking at me. I smile at them and walk closer to them. " I can't believe I just got to kiss Randy Orton. I mean he's like totally famous." I can't believe how good of a job I'm doing of acting like a bimbo. It's actually starting to scare me. The leader of the group asks me who he is. " He works for the WWE. He's a professional wrestler. He makes a ton of money. I can't believe how lucky I am he asked me to dance. Any girl that would turn him down is an idiot." I look over at Randy and wink. He takes that as his cue to come over. As soon as he comes near me the girl who turned him down starts pushing out her chest and steps in front of me. " You know on second thought I think I would like to dance with you." Randy reaches around her and grabs my hand. " Sorry sweetheart but I've upgraded to a much better model. Thanks for the offer though."  
  
As we walk away we can hear all of her friends laughing at her I look at Randy and see he is trying to hold in his laughter. When we get back to the table the guys applaud me and I take a bow. I tell them I need to use the ladies room and walk off. Once I'm done I step back into the hallway only to be pushed back in. " You can kiss Randy but you can't kiss me? Well I'm the big dog around here and I get what I want." Before I can protest Mark is pulling me to him and proceeds to give me an earth-shattering kiss. 


	11. When Reality Strikes part 11

Title: When Reality Strikes  
  
I don't even try to fight it I've always had the hots for him. When Mark pulls away a minute later I lean against the counter panting. I look up at him and see the satisfied smirk. "I bet the rookie out there didn't kiss you like that." He just had to go and ruin the moment by opening his big mouth. " I didn't realize I was involved in a kissing contest, if that's the case I have a few more stops to make." I go to push past Mark but he puts his arms around my waist and pulls me to him. " Why do you keep fighting it? I know you want me and you know you want me so I don't see what the problem is. Your friend even told me you like me. So let's get out of here and go to the hotel. I can guarantee you will have the time of your life."  
  
If he had just kissed me and took me back to the hotel we would already be undressed and in bed. But of course not he had to turn into a cocky bastard. " I do admit the idea has its merit but I going to tell you what's going to happen right now. You are going to let me go and I am going to go back to the table. We'll just pretend this little incident never happened ok?" I pat his cheek and try not to laugh at the anger I see swimming in his eyes. Just as he goes to open his mouth a woman walks into the bathroom. I use the distraction to my advantage and rush out of the room. When I get back to the table I see everyone is getting ready to leave.  
  
Trish walks over to me and throws her arm around me. "Where have you been? I was about to send out a search party?" I lean over and whisper to her about what detained me. As I get to the part about Mark her eyes open real wide. "He kissed you?" I tell her to be quiet and pull her out of the club. Before we can discuss it further the guys all walk out behind us. I notice Kevin and Shawn keep staring at us and that's when I realize Trish still has her arm around me. I smile at them and turn back to her. I tell Trish we will talk about it later. When I see Mark coming towards me I run over to Glenn and try to hide behind him. "Erica not that I don't like having you near me but what the hell are you doing?" I peak around him to see where Mark is and I jump when I see he's spotted me. " I was trying to hide but my cover's been blown. Thanks for the help." When Trish pulls up in the car I jump in the backseat and we drive off towards the hotel. As Trish drives I can't help but think this stuff with Mark is long from over.  
  
A week and a half later  
  
I made it through my first week and half, thank god. The night after my kiss with Mark I fully expected him to corner me and make me talk but surprisingly he kept his distance. I just chalked it up to him having too much to drink that night. But that didn't stop me from replaying the kiss in my head over and over again. I think Mark has finally found me useful because he didn't have to keep track of his plane tickets or hotel reservations this week. And I also got him and some of the other guys to go to the children's hospital. I think once the guys got there they were having more fun then the kids.  
  
Tonight is RAW so I'm sitting in his locker room while he's out in the ring. Glenn is off somewhere getting his costume adjusted. As I watch the monitor I realize Mark's match is over and he is heading back here. I get up and walk out the door. On my way down to the gorilla position I grab Mark a bottle of water. Once he's through the curtain I toss him the bottle. " Great match baby, you're the greatest the absolute best. Did that sound convincing?" He glares at me and then takes a sip of his water. "Very funny smartass. Are you ready to leave?" I nod my head at him and follow him down the hallway. As I watch him walk I realize he's limping.  
  
When we get into the locker room I grab my bag and go to grab Mark's too but he yells at me. "I know you're not trying to carry my bag. And you know the routine hand over your bag too." I really don't want him carrying this stuff but judging by the look on his face I hand over the bags. I follow him out to the car and get in. Halfway too the hotel it starts to rain so bad you can barely see out the windshield. When we get to the hotel we park the car and grab our bags and rush inside. By now Mark is limping very badly. We're both soaked and all I want to do is take a hot shower and climb into bed. Mark seems to be looking for something and when I ask he tells me he forgot one of his bags in the car. " Just get it in the morning. Let's go check in."  
  
Mark shakes his head. "I have pills in that bag that will help the swelling in my knee go down. So you can stop pretending not to notice I'm limping." I tell him to get on line to check in and before he can say anything I run back out into the rain. By the time I return my clothes are stuck to my skin and I'm shivering. Mark is sitting down in the lobby. I walk over to him and hand him his bag. " What the hell were you thinking running out into the rain like that? I would of went and got my bag myself." I can't believe him sometimes. He can't even say thank you. " Well your welcome." I turn and walk away from him.  
  
When I go to check in they tell me I don't have a reservation. "What do you mean? I called before to confirm and I was told I had two rooms." The clerk looks in the computer and tells me one of the rooms was given away and Mark had taken the other room. I tell her to just give me another room but she tells me there are no more vacancies. "Great this is just great." I turn and walk back to Mark. He stands and grabs his bags. "What room are you in?" I shake my head. "I don't have a room, somehow mine was given away and they don't have anymore rooms. If you don't mind I would like to take the car and go find another hotel. I promise to be back in the morning."  
  
When Mark grabs onto my bags too and walks off to the elevator I run to catch up to him. "Hello? Didn't you just hear what I said?" Mark motions for me to follow him into the elevator. "Yes I heard what you said and I don't want you driving in this weather so you're staying with me. End of discussion so don't even bother to open your mouth to argue." Oh god since I booked his room I know there's only one bed, lord give me strength. 


	12. When Reality Strikes part 12

Title: When Reality Strikes  
  
The ride up in the elevator is pretty much quiet except for the chattering of my teeth. I can't believe how cold I am. When the elevator opens on our floor Mark walks off first and I follow him. When we get to the room he sets down the bags and opens up the door. I walk in and hope maybe there was a mistake and there are actually two beds. Nope there's just a king size bed. I turn to look at Mark to see if he's realized the sleeping arrangements but he's just putting the bags down. "You should go take a hot shower you're still shivering." I go to grab my bag and then I watch him limp to the bed. " I think you should go first. You need to get in the hot water before your knee locks up on you. I need to call to confirm tomorrow's reservations so it's not a big deal." I can tell he is about to argue so I pull out my cell phone. As I start to talk to the clerk at the next hotel Mark gets up and walks into the bathroom.  
  
Once I hear him turn on the shower I get off the phone and start digging through my bag for something to wear. Usually I sleep naked so I don't have much sleeping attire. I pull out a t-shirt and sigh when I see its one of my Undertaker shirts. Well it's either sleep naked or lose some dignity? I must be so caught up in my dilemma I don't hear Mark walk out of the bathroom. "Erica, hey Erica I said the bathroom is all yours." I turn around and see Mark only has on a pair of pajama bottoms. I nod at him and walk into the bathroom to take a shower. Once I get out of the shower I feel a lot better. I slip on my t-shirt and walk out of the bathroom.  
  
I see Mark sitting on the bed rubbing his knee. I turn around and go back into the bathroom and grab some ointment I have in my toiletry bag. Sometimes I get aches and pains from being on the planes. I walk over to Mark and kneel down in front of him. "What do you think you're doing?" I ignore him and roll up his pant leg and start to rub the ointment on his knee. "That shit burns are you trying to kill me? I'm not a fucking invalid Erica. Aren't you taking this personal assistant thing a little too far?" I sit back on my heels and glare at him. " You are the most ungrateful person I have ever met in my entire life. I wasn't acting as your personal assistant when I decided to rub your knee. I just hate seeing people in pain. Trust me I didn't except to hear a thank you from the big bad Undertaker but I did it anyway."  
  
Mark glares right back at me. "You're pretty ungrateful yourself because I'm letting you share my room remember? It's not my problem you don't have a room. So I offered to let you stay with me." I get up and stand in front of him with my hands on my hips. " First off you didn't offer me to share your room you ordered me too. Secondly if you are going to hold this over my head then I'm leaving." I walk over to where my bags are and grab a pair of jeans out and start to put them on. " Where the hell do you think you're going?" I look over my shoulder at Mark. "I'm going to sleep in the fucking car. I would rather freeze to death then share a room with you."  
  
I grab all of my stuff then I go over to the closet and grab the spare blanket and put it in my bag and march towards the door. "Who are you kidding Erica? You're too much of a prissy princess to sleep out in the car. I know you are going to stay with one of the guys or the girls." Instead of answering him I walk out of the room carrying my stuff. I take the elevator down to the lobby and walk into the gift shop and I buy myself an umbrella then I rush out to the car. I still get pretty wet but not totally soaked. I put my bags in the front seat and climb into the backseat. I lean forward to the front and pull the blanket out of my bag and curl up in the back. As I try to fall asleep all I keep thinking in my head is I'll show him I'm not a prissy princess. 


	13. When Reality Strikes part 13

Sorry its been so long but hopefully I can update more often and hopefully people will still read this.

Title: When Reality Strikes

The next morning I jump awake when I hear someone banging on the window. I open my eyes and through my blurry vision see that it's Mark. As I sit up my whole head starts to pound and my chest hurts like hell. Great I think I'm getting sick. Mark motions for me to unlock the door so I hit the button and he swings the back door open. "You're in the car." I make a big show of looking around. "Oh my god you're right. Thanks Captain Obvious, you've solved another case. No shit dumbass, I told you I was sleeping in the car." As soon as I finish my sentence I start to cough. "I can't believe you slept in the car."

I hatefully glare at him as I slide out of the car. "Well I'm sorry to shatter your image of me as a prissy princess. Anyway we have a long drive ahead of us. Now if you will excuse me I am going to see if I can use someone's shower." I go into the front of the car and grab my bag. As I start to walk away from the car I get extremely dizzy and slam into the side door. Mark rushes over to me. He picks me up in his arms and starts to carry me towards the hotel. "Put me down you big jackass. I would rather crawl across the lobby then have to be in debt to you for carrying me." Mark tells me to shut up and since the yelling is hurting my head anyway I decide to do as he asks.

Once we get up to his room Mark manages to open the door with me in his arms. Now if we hadn't been fighting and Mark carried me into his room I would be in all of my glory but that's just not the case right now. Mark places me on the bed and walks into the bathroom. I hear him turn on the shower so I stand up and try to walk. The room starts to spin and I start to cough so hard I think my chest may rip open. I fall into a heap on the floor. As I lay my head on the floor the first thing to come into my vision is Mark's black boots. "Must you be so stubborn all of the damn time?" I don't even bother to try to look at him. "I'm almost to the bathroom so leave me be." I get on my hands and knees and start to crawl. I don't care how stupid I look because I am determined not to let him help me. By the time I'm almost to the bathroom door I'm already covered in sweat.

I yelp when Mark reaches down and hauls me up. He takes me into the bathroom and places me on the counter. When he starts to take my shirt off I find the strength to start slapping his hands. "I never figured you as the type to take advantage of a sick woman." Mark pulls away from me and stands with his hands on his hips. "Can't you keep your mouth shut for more then five minutes?" As I open my mouth to say something else he leans over and kisses me. I don't even bother to put up a fight. When Mark pulls away I turn my head and sneeze. "Well that certainly shut you up. Now listen I sort of feel responsible for you sleeping out in the car. If I had actually thought you would do something that stupid I would of went down to the car last night and dragged your ass back up here. I'm not that cold hearted." I snort out my disagreement.

"Erica are you going to let me help you?" I am starting to feel worse by the minute so I nod my head. Mark pulls my t-shirt over my head and I hold it to my chest. I didn't have time last night to put a bra on before I left. Mark leans forward to unzip my jeans and I hiss in a breath when his warm hands rub against my stomach. He looks up at me and I can see his eyes have turned a darker shade of green. Mark tells me to grab onto his shoulders so I can stand and he pulls me off of the counter. He kneels down in front of me and takes off my shoes and socks then pulls my jeans off. I get hit with another wave of dizziness and grab onto Mark. Since he's kneeling in front of me basically I'm crushing his face into my midsection. Mark gets up and looks at me. "Are you going to be able to get into the shower yourself?" I nod my head weakly at him.

Once he's gone I pull my panties off and step into the shower. The hot water feels good. I can't believe I lucked out and he didn't notice my Undertaker shirt. When I hear the door open again I peak my head out of the curtain. "Oh I forgot to tell you how much I liked your shirt." I manage to grab a bottle of shampoo and throw it at his head but he quickly shuts the door. I swear when I'm feeling better I am going to kick his ass.


	14. When Reality Strikes part 14

Title: When Reality Strikes

When I get out of the shower I wrap a towel around myself and step out of the bathroom. I find my clothes laid out on the bed and notice Mark isn't in the room so I decide to try and hurry getting dressed. I don't think I have the energy to walk all the way back to the bathroom. I manage to get on my panties and bra. I sit on the bed and try to wiggle my jogging pants on. I can't believe how weak I feel. I get my pants on and lay back on the bed. I need to close my eyes for a just a minute.

When I hear the door slam I open my eyes and realize I had fallen asleep. I sit up and see Mark staring at me. "I went to get you some medicine and some breakfast. Are you ok?" I notice he isn't staring at my face and that's when I realize I don't have a shirt on. I reach for my tank top and pull it on. I look back up at Mark and he is still staring. "Do you have x-ray vision because if you don't then stop looking at me." I start to cough and curl up into a ball on the bed. A minute later Mark is holding a little cup of medicine in my face. "Take this so we can get going. We're behind schedule already." I take the cup and swallow the medicine. I make a disgusted face at the gross taste.

I realize Mark said we're behind schedule so I get up so we can leave. I get dizzy again but when he reaches out to me I put my hand up to stop him. "I'm fine let's go." By now my voice comes out barely above a whisper. We go down to the car and I climb into the passengers seat. Mark gets in and throws the bag with my breakfast at me. "Here eat this, you're paid to do a job so I need for you to be well enough to do it." I open the bag and take a bite of the muffin. "And here I was thinking that you were concerned about me. Thank you for clearing that up for me." Instead of saying anything to me Mark just grabs onto the steering wheel a little tighter.

An hour into the trip my eyes start to close and I shake my head to stay awake. Mark looks over at me. "You weren't thinking about falling asleep on me now were you?" I cross my arms over my chest. "No I know the rules. Everyone in the car must stay awake. Now could you please focus on the road instead of me?" Mark turns back to the road and I do my best to stay awake.

By hour five in the car I want to cry because I am so miserable. I try to hold in my coughs because Mark glares at me when I do it and I really don't feel up to fighting with him. It's getting harder and harder to breathe and all I want to do is sleep for a few hours. When I see the sign for the next city I silently thank god since the trip will be over soon. As soon as we get to the hotel I am sleeping till its time for the show. When we pull into the parking lot of the arena I look over at Mark. "I want to work out for awhile and this arena has a great gym. Besides you need to pick up my new schedule or have you forgotten your duties all ready?" I open the door and climb out. Mark walks ahead of me to the building and I slowly follow behind.

When we get inside Mark tells me he's off to the gym so I head down to the McMahon's office to pick up Mark's schedule. When I knock Vince tells me to come in. "Hi Erica, What can I do for you?" I start to cough and look at Vince. "Sorry about that. I've come to get Mark's schedule." Vince looks at me for a second. "Didn't he tell you he picked up his schedule last night at RAW? He said he was going to give it to you. You don't look too good are you ok?" That little bastard had his schedule all along. "I think I'm coming down with something but it won't get in the way of my job. I guess it slipped my mind Mark had gotten his schedule. I will see you later." I walk out before Vince can say anything else to me.

Once I get back to Mark's locker room I collapse on the couch. I get up and walk into the bathroom to put a wet washcloth on my head. I feel like I'm burning up. When I hear the door open to the locker room I walk back in and see Mark. "Why didn't you tell me you had your schedule all along?" He walks over to sit on the couch. "Oh I guess that little bit of information slipped my mind. Anyway I made a few notes on my schedule and I need for you to change some things around." Mark reaches down into his bag and pulls out his schedule and hands it to me. I snatch it out of his hand and go to grab my bag so I can start making calls. Before I can walk out of the room Mark calls me back to him and reaches down into his bag again.

He pulls out two pairs of his pants. "I need for you to run down to wardrobe and have them fix these and to see if they have my new shirts yet." I take his pants and go to walk back out. Before I go I turn back to him. "Is that all?" Mark lies back on the couch. "Yeah that should be all for now. Now if you don't mind shutting the door on your way out I want to take a nap before the show." I'm the one that's sick and he gets to sleep. When I walk out I make sure to slam the door as hard as I can. On my way down to wardrobe I run into Trish. When she sees me she tells me I look like hell. "Gee thanks a lot. Now I really have high self-esteem." She shakes her head at me and puts her hand on my forehead. "Damn it Erica you're burning up. You need to go to a doctor." I tell her I can't go. "I have a job to do and I put that first. His highness has a few chores for me so I need to get them done. After that maybe I will head down to the trainers office. But thank you for your concern. It's nice to know someone cares."

After I finish with wardrobe I walk over to the catering table to get myself a bottle of water. My throat feels so dry. I get so frustrated when I don't even have the strength to twist the top off. "Need some help with that?" I look up and see Glenn. I hand over the bottle and he easily opens it and hands it back. "Are you ok? You don't look so good." Glenn feels my forehead just like Trish and when he feels it he snatches his hand back. "Your hot as hell. Come on I'm taking you to the trainers office." Glenn grabs my arm and starts to guide me down the hallway. "Glenn I can't go yet I have calls to make for Mark. I promise when I'm done I will go." Glenn starts arguing with me and says I can do all of that after I talk with the doctor. As I open my mouth to tell him no I feel myself losing consciousness and before I know it all I see is darkness.


	15. When Reality Strikes part 15

Title: When Reality Strikes

When I wake up I groan and try to roll over onto my side. "Erica try not to move around too much." I blink a few times to get my vision into focus. When I do I see the WWE's trainer Dr. Johnson standing next to me. "What happened?" He shines a light in my eyes and when he's done he helps me sit up. "According to Glenn he was trying to get you to come down here and when you started to argue you fainted. He carried you down here and I've checked you over. Your have a fever of 103 and I can hear some congestion in your lungs. You have a very bad cold and if you don't take care of it then it can turn into pneumonia. You need to be put on bed rest." I start shaking my head and go to get up. "I'm sorry Dr. but I have a job to do. I will rest tonight at the hotel."

"Erica if you insist on working today then at least try to take it easy and try to fit in a nap sometime today ok?" Before I leave Dr. Johnson hands me some pills and tells me to take one every four hours. I promise I will and I leave. Glenn is leaning against the wall when I walk out. "So what's the verdict?" I start walking down the hallway back towards Mark's locker room. "The good doctor wanted to put me on bed rest but I told him I have a job to do. I did promise I would take a nap sometime today but with all of the stuff Mark has me doing I doubt I will be able too." Glenn holds the door open for me as we walk into the locker room.

When Mark sees me he walks over to me and checks me over with his eyes. "Are you ok?" Instead of answering him I walk past him and go to get my bag. Glenn must have of brought it back here after I passed out. "I'm talking to you Erica." I pull out his schedule and sit down to start making some calls. As I start to dial the first number Mark grabs my phone and throws it against the wall. I look at him and see he is seething with anger. "Don't ignore me when I'm talking to you." I take out my notebook and make a note to get a new cell phone. I get up with the full intention of going to Stephanie's office and asking if I can use her phone to do my business but Mark gets in my way. "You're not leaving this room till you talk to me." I try to shove past Mark but I'm too weak and I start to cough. Right before I collapse again Glenn rushes over and picks me up. He places me on the couch and turns to Mark.

"What the hell is your problem? Can't you see that she's sick? The doctor told her to get on bed rest but she said she had a job to do. And instead of trying to be nice to her you act like a total asshole. I can't believe I call you my best friend." Mark charges at Glenn and shoves him. "Isn't that sweet? You're sticking up for your little girlfriend." Glenn gets up off of the floor and runs at Mark slamming his shoulder into his stomach. The force of the blow sends both men to the floor. They start rolling around and idiot me decides to try and stop them. Glenn is on top of Mark and I jump on Glenn's back to trying pull him off of Mark. Mark picks that moment to shove Glenn with all of his strength, which sends Glenn off of Mark and on top of me. Glenn's elbow connects with my chest and I curl up into the fetal position.

I start coughing so hard I think I may faint again. Glenn hovers over me apologizing up and down when Mark shoves him out of the way. I whimper when Mark picks me up and carries me out of the room. On the way out he grabs my bag and my pills. As he carries me down the hallway I'm too weak to fight with him or question him on where he is taking me. When Mark takes me out to the car and drops me in the front seat I try to climb back out but Mark gets in the drivers seat and reaches over to fasten my seat belt. As he pulls out of the parking lot he looks over at me. "Unless you are going to jump out of this car while it's moving I suggest you sit back and enjoy the ride." I cross my arms over my chest and sulk.

When we get to the hotel Mark leaves me in the car and rushes inside. He returns a few minutes later with the keys and picks me up out of the car. "I thought we had this talk already? I don't need you carrying me." Mark chooses to ignore me and once again carries me across another lobby. Once we reach our floor Mark walks down the hall till he finds the room. He opens the door and drops me on the bed. He points a finger at me and tells me not to move. Little does he know I'm too damn tired to go anywhere. A few minutes later he comes back into the room with my bags. When he opens my luggage I open my mouth to yell at him but he just fixes me with a glare and goes back to what he was doing.

He pulls out a t-shirt and comes over to me. As he starts to strip my clothes off of me again I lift my eyebrow and look at him. "This seems to be becoming a habit for you. Having fun yet?" Instead of answering me Mark pulls the t-shirt over my head. He puts his hands on either side of me and looks in my eyes. "Honey when it comes to woman and clothes the only time I'm having fun is when I'm taking their clothes off. You're the first woman I've ever put clothes on." I scramble away from him and try to get off the bed on the other side. Mark grabs my leg and pulls me back to him. "You are staying in bed for the rest of today. The doctor wants you in bed and so do I." I laugh and look at him to see if he's realized his slip. Judging by the shade of his cheeks I think he has. "Shut up Erica you know what I meant." He walks into the bathroom and comes out with a glass of water for me. I take my pill and Mark pulls the covers back and I climb under them.

He tucks me in and I bite my tongue from making a rude comment. Instead I decide to just sit there and enjoy him taking care of me. It's been so long since someone took time out of their life to do something for me. As my eyes start to close I realize later on I am going to have to thank him for this and also have a talk with him about the fight with Glenn. When I feel a kiss on my forehead I open my eyes but he's gone. I must be imaging things; this medicine must be strong as hell.

Later on when I wake up I look over at the nightstand and see a new more expensive cell phone on top of it with a note attached to a red rose. I open it and read through it. Apparently Mark has given me strict orders to say in bed until he returns tonight. I start to laugh and then stop myself. What does he mean till he returns tonight? I lean up and look in the corner that's when I notice his bags in the corner of the room. I decide to make a quick call down to the front desk and they inform me Mr. Callaway cancelled one of the two rooms. He also left orders that if I called downstairs for anything that the hotel was to bring it to me immediately. I hang up and lay back in bed twirling the rose through my fingers. Hmm maybe he cares after all.


	16. When Reality Strikes part 16

Title: When Reality Strikes

I realized it was time for me to take another pill so I went to the bathroom to get another glass of water. When I looked in the mirror I was shocked at my appearance. I looked like I was going to keel over any second. On my way back to bed I grab my bag so I could make a few calls. I had another two more calls to make when I heard the door open. I looked up and Mark was standing beside the bed with his hands on his hips. I finished the call and as soon as I put my phone down he started to yell. "Didn't I tell you to stay in bed while I was gone?" I fluff up my pillows and lean back against them. "Well as you can see I am in bed. You never left any orders not to use the phone. I only have a cold so I don't know what the big deal is."

Mark sighs and goes over to his bag and starts pulling out clothes. "Well little miss its only a cold when I went back to the arena I spoke with Dr. Johnson and he told me if you don't take care of yourself you could end up with pneumonia. That sounds pretty serious to me. So are you going to take care of yourself?" I pick up the remote and turn on the TV. I guess Mark gets fed up with me and goes into the bathroom to shower and change. While he's in there I try to muffle the sounds of me coughing. When he walks out a short time later I notice he is only wearing those damn pajama bottoms again. I watch him walk around the room putting things away. I decide his guard must be down so I go in for the kill. "Why did you tell the hotel to cancel the other room?" I watch the muscles tighten up in his back before he turns to me. "I figured your too damn stubborn to take care of yourself and I told you I feel a little responsible for you sleeping in the car in the first place so I'm going to stay tonight to make sure you don't die in your sleep." Ok so he answered that question pretty easily.

"Why did you get so mad at Glenn at the arena?" I notice he's starting to get agitated and from my short experience with him I should back down right now but I can't help myself. He wouldn't hurt a sick woman; well I at least hope he won't. Mark walks over to the mini bar and pulls out a small bottle of Jack Daniels and downs it in one shot. "He was getting involved in business that didn't involve him. We get into fights all the time. That's a part of being best friends." I tap my chin in thought. "Well since I've been working here I do admit I've seen you guys have arguments but they never resulted in both of you wrestling around on the floor. What seemed to set you off today?" Mark cracks his knuckles and I know I'm really pushing my luck at this point. "I just didn't get enough sleep last night. I was in a bad mood and I took it out on him. I've already apologized to him and we've worked things out."

"I'm glad you guys talked things over. I really like Glenn." I watch the jealousy leap into his eyes and I bit my tongue from laughing out loud. I knew all along he was pissed at Glenn taking care of me. It seems the big dog has feelings after all. "Oh Mark I forgot to tell you apparently the cell phone fairy came while I was sleeping. Can you believe it?" Mark goes over to the couch and sits down. He puts his feet up on the coffee table. "I broke your phone so I replaced it. Let's not make a federal case out of it all right?" I almost open my mouth and tell him he could of just gotten me the same phone but instead he got me a better model but once again I keep my mouth shut. We both sit in silence for a few minutes before I ask him about one last thing.

"Ok let's just go over a few things. You're staying here because you feel responsible. You got into a fight with Glenn because you guys always fight and you didn't have any sleep. You brought me a new cell phone because you broke mine so you were just replacing it. This has nothing to do with feelings am I correct so far?" Mark glares at me and nods his head. All I keep thinking in my head is gotcha. "Then how come when I woke up I found a rose on the nightstand?"


	17. When Reality Strikes part 17

Title: When Reality Strikes

Mark's mouth drops open for a second but I have to give him credit for quickly recovering. "Well um when I brought your cell phone the guy gave me the rose as part of some promotion." I bite my lip to keep from laughing. "Wow that must be some cell phone store. I've never heard of giving roses away as a promotion. Can you tell me the name of the store, I think I may get a phone for my friend Amber as a joke." Mark gets up and walks over to the bed. "Ok smart ass you know as well as I do that I brought you the rose. And let me tell you I'm regretting it more and more as every second ticks by." I hold the rose up and look at Mark. "I thought it was very sweet. No man has ever given me any kind of flowers before." It hurt me to admit that little bit of info but it was the truth.

Mark sits down on the bed beside me. " Are you trying to get me to believe no man has ever brought you flowers?" I nod my head at him. "Well I'll be damned. I figured all through your life men must have been sending flowers to you all the time." I sigh and rest the rose in my lap. "Yes I know how pathetically sad that sounds but I always got caught up with the wrong type of guys. They barely had money to buy food for themselves let alone buy me flowers and to be honest they all didn't seem the type to know how to be romantic." Mark brushes the hair out of my face and stares into my eyes. "I don't know how a man can be around you and not have romantic thoughts."

"You seem to manage pretty well." Mark leans away from me and starts to chuckle. "Honey that's what you think. You have no idea the hell I've been going through because of you the past two weeks." I don't know if I'm supposed to take offence to that or not. "I'm sorry for being such a problem for you. Just think about it, I'll be gone from your life in two weeks." Instead of commenting Mark gets up and turns the TV off and walks over to the bed. Up until this moment I had completely forgotten there was only one bed. Mark pulls the covers back and climbs in. I move over onto my side of the bed as much as I can without falling off. I lean up and turn off the light and just lie there in the darkness. When I hear Mark start to snore I roll over onto my side and try to fall asleep.

The next morning when I wake up Mark is already gone. When I try to get up to go take a shower I realize I can't move. The heaviness in my chest has intensified. I start to cough and tears pour out of my eyes from the pain. I roll over on my side and try to calm down. When I hear the door open and Mark walks back in I can't even call out to him. He must notice I'm awake because he walks over to the bed. When he notices the tears streaming down my face he picks me up and holds me in his lap. "Baby what's wrong?" I somehow manage to tell him the pain is really bad and I'm having problems breathing. Mark grabs my jeans and shoes and puts them on me. He then carries me out to the car and drives me to the hospital.

Once we get to the emergency room Mark demands to stay with me but the nurse tells him he has to wait in the waiting room. The doctor checks me over and sure enough I have pneumonia. Luckily it's not too serious but they want to keep me for the day to pump some antibiotics into me. They admit me and put me in my own room. The nurse helps me settle in. "I'm going to get your boyfriend for you in a few minutes. He's been so worried. All he's been doing is pacing back and forth asking when he can see you. You sure are a lucky girl." I never bother to correct her because to be honest the thought of Mark as my boyfriend spreads some warmth into my chest. I don't know how to reconcile that thought with myself considering he is such a pain in the ass but yup the thought is still there.

When Mark walks into the room he rushes over to me. "How are you feeling?" Luckily the medicine the doctor has given me has kicked in so I don't feel the pain. "I'm doing pretty good. The doctor wants me to stay here till tomorrow but I am going to wait a few hours and then try to get out of here. You have a lot of personal appearances this week and I have a few calls left to make." I can tell Mark is about to argue so I pretend to fall asleep and the funny thing is I actually do fall asleep.

When I awake sometime later I notice the table next to me has a beautiful bouquet of flowers. I feel the tears well up when I realize only one person could of gotten them for me. Sure enough I can hear Mark outside of my room talking to someone. By the way he is talking I'm assuming he's on the phone. "Listen Vince, I think it's for the best if you let Erica out of her contract. Yeah I know she has two weeks left but I think it's a good idea if you let her go now. I don't want her here. In fact I want her on the first plane out of here, she can't do her job. I'm glad you see it my way. Yeah call her in about an hour and then you can tell her. All right bye." Idiot me thought he actually cared about me. When I hear the door to my room open I turn my head so Mark can't see my tears.


	18. When Reality Strikes part 18

Title: When Reality Strikes

I hear Mark walk towards my bed but I refuse to look at him. "Darlin you're crying, are you in a lot f pain?" I want to tell him physically I'm not feeling pain but emotionally I'm a wreck. Since I know Vince is going to call me soon to drop the ax I figure I should make a clean break away from Mark. "I'm fine. Is there something I could help you with?" Mark drags a chair over to the bed and tries to grab my hand. "What's wrong? Didn't you like the flowers?" I turn to look at the flowers and they are beautiful but I just keep reminding myself he is the reason I'm going to be out of the job. "There all right I guess."

I can feel Mark's stare. "Just all right huh? Well I'm sorry I bothered. I figured since you can't seem to find a good man that I should take pity on you and buy you some flowers." Great so he's taking pity on me. "Mark I don't need your pity so you can take your fucking flowers and shove them up your ass. Leave my room right now." Mark stands up so abruptly he knocks the chair over. "What's gotten into you? Here I was starting to think we could actually get along and you turn turbo bitch on me. I don't need this shit. Have a nice life." When he slams out of the room I start to cry again.

An hour later the phone rings next to my bed and I debate on whether or not to answer it. In the end I reach over and pick it up. "Erica this is Vince McMahon. How are you feeling?" Can't he just get it over with? "I'm doing pretty well Mr. McMahon. I appreciate you calling." I hear Vince sigh over the phone. "Listen Erica I want you to know how much we've appreciated your work over the last two weeks. You have a great work ethic. But I just think now isn't the right time for you to be working for us. I'm going to let you out of your contract. I'm going to pay you for the full month plus your airfare home. Just charge it on your expense account. Again I am really sorry."

"If you were so impressed with my work then how come you're letting me go?" I can hear the hesitation in his voice. "Well right now we're over budget with our salaries." Yeah ok that's why he just offered to pay me for the month. "Well I would be willing to take a pay cut." I can hear silence for a few minutes. "Erica I'm really sorry but for now there just isn't a place for you here. Again I'm sorry go home rest and try to get better as soon as you can." With that said he hangs up. So there isn't a place for me here then where the hell is there a place for me? Something about that call doesn't seem right to me but I will just think about it later.

A few hours later I check myself out of the hospital against doctors orders. Since I don't have a job I might as well not try to avoid what I have to do. I take a cab back to the hotel and ask the front desk for a key to the room. When I open the door I listen for sounds to let me know Mark is in the room but it sounds like the coast is clear. I walk in and start to pack. I have to stop every now and then because I feel dizzy. Just as I'm finishing up I hear the door bang open. Glenn walks in holding up what looks to be a very drunk Mark.

"Erica what are you doing out of the hospital? I was on my way over to see you after I put him to bed." I help Glenn get Mark over to the bed. "Well I don't know if you heard or not but Vince let me go. So I thought I better get home to get a new job." Glenn looks at me in surprise. "Vince let you go? The other day he was just telling me how impressed he was that you handle Mark so well." I look over at Mark passed out on the bed. "Why don't you ask your friend over there when he comes to? I heard him on the phone telling Vince he wanted me gone. Well I guess he got his wish."

"Do you want me to talk to him? Hell I'll beat him up if you want me to." I go to grab my bag but Glenn picks it up for me. "Don't bother Glenn, Mark obviously didn't want me around. I would appreciate it if you could help me carry my bags down to the lobby. Wait before we go I need to leave something for Mark." When I left the hospital I asked the nurse for a bag to put the flowers in. I take them out and place them on the TV stand. I write Mark a little note saying I don't need anyone's pity and that I was a fool for thinking he was a good man. I hope the bastard wakes up with one hell of a headache.

Glenn and I go down to the lobby leaving Mark in the room. We go outside to wait for a cab. "Mark called me from the hospital to tell me you were admitted. He seemed worried about you. Then about two hours later he came back to the hotel and told me he wanted to go for a drink. He wouldn't talk about you and if I mentioned your name he would snap at me. Well one drink turned into another and he got wasted. I don't know what his problem is."

"Glenn don't bother trying to figure him out. It's a total waste of time. Trust me I've been there." Glenn starts to laugh. "For awhile there I thought the two of you were either going to kill each other or end up in bed. I'm really sorry it didn't work out Erica. You were starting to really become part of the family. Listen could I have your number so we could stay in touch?" I write my home number and cell phone number on a piece of paper and hand it too him. I also reach back into my purse and pull out some money. "Here are my numbers, feel free to give them out to anyone that asks. I would really love to stay in touch with the girls and Paul and you of course. I also want you to give this money to Mark to pay for my cell phone." Glenn starts to protest saying Mark broke my phone but I tell him I don't want to be in debt to him.

Once my cab comes Glenn hugs me goodbye and I start to get teary eyed. " Come on now don't cry. I'm going to call you tomorrow to make sure you got home ok. Once you get home I want you going right to bed and resting all right?" I sniffle and promise him I will rest. "Glenn please make sure to tell everyone goodbye for me. And tell Vince I understand he did what he had to do. He'll understand. Be careful in the ring I'll be watching." The cab takes off and I wave to Glenn. Once we get onto the highway I lean back in the seat thinking well I got to fulfill my fantasy for two weeks and now it's time to go back to reality.


	19. When Reality Strikes part 19

Title: When Reality Strikes

The flight home felt like forever. I tried to sleep through most of the flight but luck wasn't on my side. There was some turbulence. Now as I stand in my living room I look around and realize I'm really home. I don't have a job and I'm sick. My first instinct is to check all of my message but I stop myself. It's time I finally start putting myself first. Everyone else can just wait. I carry my bags up to my room and start peeling off my clothes. I walk into the bathroom and take my pill. I go back into my room and slide underneath the covers. It's nice to be able to finally sleep in my own bed.

I wake up to the sound of my phone ringing. When I glance at the clock I realize I slept through the entire night. I can't believe how exhausted I was. I reach over and grab the phone. "Morning sunshine. I didn't wake you did I?" I laugh and cradle the phone close to my ear. "Well Glenn you actually did wake me up but I needed to get up anyway. How are you?" Judging by the background noise I think he's at the airport. "I'm ok the question is how are you doing?" I pull the blankets tighter around me and sigh. "It's nice to be home and I got a good night's rest. But to be honest I still wish I was with you guys."

"Even if that meant dealing with Mark?" Oh yes how could I forget him? "Yes even if that meant dealing with Mark. How is his highness this morning?" Glenn starts to whisper into the phone so I can only assume Mark is near by. "I went to check on him this morning and when I let myself into the room he was still sound asleep so I knocked him off of the bed. As you can guess he was not too happy with me. Then he noticed the flowers you left and the note and let me tell you I've never heard Mark use so many curse words in one sentence. I'll just leave that up to your imagination. He had thought I went to see you at the hospital and you made me bring the flowers back. Anyway after he took his shower and stumbled out of the bathroom he told me he was going to go to the hospital to set your ass straight. I debated on taking cover before I told him you were gone and I should of went with my instinct because when he threw the flowers they missed my head by mere inches. He's been a grouch ever since."

"Hey someone wants to talk to you is it ok if I put them on?" I wonder who it could be. "Sure go ahead." When I hear the voice my worry disappears. "Hey Beautiful. How could you leave us without saying good-bye? Trish has been inconsolable. We're all thinking about striking till Vince hires you back." I start to laugh. "I'm sorry Paul but I had to leave. And don't you dare do anything that could jeopardize your job. I told Glenn to give my number to anyone that wanted it so we can still stay in touch." I hear Paul arguing with someone about the phone and I guess whoever he was fighting with won. "Erica sweetie how are you feeling?" Damn Trish must be stronger then I thought to get the phone away from Paul. "I'm all right. I can't believe I miss you guys already. Listen next time the WWE is in town I want you and Amy to stay at my house. We could have a girls night."

"Ok I am going to hold you to that but it still won't make up for you not being here. We all miss you. I will call you soon. I have to give Glenn his phone back because he's bitching we're using up all of his minutes." I start laughing when Trish calls Glenn a bigger diva then her. "Hey Erica, our flight is leaving soon so I gotta go. Oh shit Mark is coming over." I hear Mark ask Glenn who he is on the phone with and Glenn starts to stutter. Gee I bet he never will be able to tell he's lying. When I hear Mark ask if it's me Glenn starts laughing nervously and says no. I decide to hang up before Mark can get the phone away from Glenn.

Over the next week I speak on the phone with either Trish, Paul, Amy, or Glenn everyday. Amber came over one night and we both got drunk off our asses watching Raw. Every time Mark came onto the screen we would both boo the TV. I definitely paid for it the next day with a bad headache. I rested as much as I could but I realized sooner or later I was going to have to look for a job. I had already received my last check from Vince so I knew I had plenty of money to last me till I found a job. As I was paying some bills the doorbell rang. When I opened the door I saw a mail carrier. He asked me to sign for the package and once I did he handed me my envelope. I shut the door and went over to the couch. When I looked at the return address I saw it was from Titan Towers courtesy of Vince McMahon. I wonder what he wants?


	20. When Reality Strikes part 20

Title: When Reality Strikes

I open the envelope and a letter falls into my lap. I quickly read over the letter from Vince and after I'm through I'm immediately picking up the phone. I demand Vince's secretary put me through. As soon as I hear his voice I flip out. "What is this bullshit Mr. McMahon? I just got through reading your letter and if I read it correctly the reason you let me go was because Mark was worried about my health and didn't want me on the road till I was better. Please tell me I misunderstood." I only hear Vince breathing on the other end of the phone. "Erica you did read the letter correctly but if you will let me explain it may make a little more sense." I tell him it better be good and lean back on the couch.

"When Mark had to take you to the hospital he called me very concerned about your health. He told me you were too dedicated and that you were going to work yourself to death. He asked me to let you out of your contract and to send you home to recuperate. Then when an appropriate amount of time had elapsed I was to hire you back. Erica I want you to believe me it was very hard to let you go but Mark had a point about your health. You sort of remind me of myself. I put my job ahead of me and at my age it's starting to catch up to me. He really did have your best interest at heart. As for the past two weeks I tried to get him a temporary assistant and so far we've gone through three. The first girl he had in tears within the first hour and the rest didn't last much longer. Honey you're the best and the WWE always wants the best. Are you ready to come back to work?"

"Mr. McMahon I am trying to stay calm here but I've finding it very hard. My health is my business. I was getting my job done and that's all that should have mattered. I don't care if Mark is considered the big dog in the yard or not it should have been my call. I enjoyed very much working for your company but I don't know if I can come back." Vince sighs on the other end of the phone. "Erica I am willing to give you a bonus. I don't have the time to keep interviewing assistants for Mark. You're the only one who could handle him. I will do whatever it takes to get you back, name your price." Well I finally have him where I want him. "Ok you can keep your bonus what I want is for Mark to personally call me to tell me he can't manage his life without me and for him to say that he was wrong." I pull the phone away from my ear when Vince starts to laugh. "Oh that was very funny Erica. Now really tell me what you want." Now I'm more determined then ever to get what I want. "Those are my terms Mr. McMahon them or leave them. Goodbye." I hang up the phone before he can respond.

I quickly pick up the phone again to call Glenn. As soon as he picks up I start babbling. "Glenn did you know the real reason Mark made Vince let me go? And why didn't you tell me he made his last three assistants cry? Vince offered me my job back but I told him I wouldn't take it until Mark called to tell me he was wrong." Glenn tells me to calm down. "First off I don't know the reason you were let go. I didn't tell you about the assistants because I didn't think you would care. And as for Vince offering you your job back your ass should be on the next plane out here. Once you get here I'll make Mark apologize."

"No can do Glenn. Mark has to call me himself and not because you've physically threatened him. As for the reason I was let go I think you should go ask Mark why and be sure to tell him I know the real truth. I will talk to you later ok?" We say our goodbyes and I lay back on the couch to think. There's no way in hell Mark is going to call so tomorrow my job search starts.

Over the next three days I go on a few interviews but nothing seems to pan out. When the doorbell rings I run to answer it assuming its Amber. I swing the door open and shock registers on my face. "Now darlin close your mouth. I'm here to drag your ass back to work." I shut my mouth and glare at Mark. I put my hands on my hips and start tapping my foot. "I'm waiting?" Mark glares right back at me. "Oh I know what you're waiting for. Vince told me all about it but you can keep on waiting. Now go pack because I'm taking you back to work." I go to slam the door in his face but he puts his hand out to stop me. "Erica I'm losing my patience with you." I laugh at him. "Losing your patience with me? Well buddy I lost my patience with you a long time ago. Now if you don't have anything else to say to me then you can leave."

"I said I'm taking you back to work." By now Mark and I are having a shoving contest with the door and I'm losing. I put my shoulder on the door and shove it with all of my might. "The only way you are taking me back to work is over my dead body." Mark shoves the door and I stumble back into the house. He follows me in and slams the door. He cracks his knuckles and looks at me. " Don't worry darlin that can be arranged." I start backing up and realize I think I've finally pushed him over the edge.


	21. When Reality Strikes part 21

Title: When Reality Strikes

I put my hands up in front of me hoping to get him to stay away. Mark just continues his pursuit. I guess I was so caught up in watching him that I didn't realize I was so close to the couch until I fall on top of it. That must have been the opening Mark was waiting for because he pounces. He grabs me and throws me over his lap. "Callaway I swear to god if you do what I think your going to do you will be very sorry." He starts to laugh and tightens his grip on me. "We'll get to that in a minute but since I have you in this position I have a few questions I want answered. Let's start with why you were such a bitch to me at the hospital?"

I lay there in silence for a few minutes. But I guess Mark's attention span is longer then I thought because he tightens his grip on me till I yelp. "Ok jackass. The reason I was so pissed is because I overheard your little conversation with Vince and I knew in an hour I wasn't going to have a job. And who would I have to thank for that? You." Mark picks me up and settles me in his lap. "So you heard that huh? Listen Erica you were running yourself ragged and before you open your mouth I know it was because I was being too demanding but that was only because you drive me crazy. So I figured you needed to go home to rest and get better. For once in my life I was thinking of someone else's feelings. But that doesn't matter now because you're coming back to work."

I laugh right in his face. "I'm going nowhere until I get what I want. Any more questions?" Mark runs his hand through his hair, which I've come to realize, is a habit he does when he's frustrated. " What did you mean in your note when you said you thought I was a good man?" Damn it the man has a good memory. "Well before the whole getting me fired thing you were starting to actually show you had some feelings and I responded to the good nice side of Mark. But then you would ruin it by being an asshole. So after overhearing you were the cause of me getting let go I figured you weren't so good after all. Satisfied?" Mark seems lost in thought so I take that as my chance to get off of his lap.

I walk into the kitchen to get myself a glass of water. I stare out the window for a few minutes and I guess I get lost in daydream till I hear a loud thump come from upstairs. I look in the living room and see Mark is nowhere in sight. I rush up the stairs and find him in my bedroom. I guess the thump was him throwing my suitcase on the bed. He turns around and that's when I notice which draw he had gotten into. "So which pair of panties do you want to bring? I happen to be leaning towards the black lacey ones. But then again the pink thong with the bow is kind of sexy too. Hell I'll just pack them all." He takes my underwear drawer and pulls it out of the dresser. Then he turns it upside down and fills up my suitcase. I manage to shake myself out of my shocked state and run into the room. "What the hell do you think your doing? And get your hands off of my bras."

Mark had moved onto the next drawer, which were my bras. He picks one up and looks at the size. Then glares at my chest. "Very impressive. You're a more then a handful sweetheart." I snatch my bra out of his hands and push him away from my dresser. Mark just walks over to my closet and starts pulling out clothes and throwing onto the bed. "Mark I'm going to ask you again very slowly. What are you doing?" He turns to look at me and gives me a look like what he's doing should be very obvious. "I'm helping you pack. We have a plane to catch in two hours. Now get a move on."

I grab my panties and start putting them back in my drawer well at least I was attempting to do that until a big hand comes out to stop me. " Now darlin it's impolite to argue with a guest." I shove him away. "Well last time I checked I didn't invite you into my house. You just barged in. But I'll start packing." Mark smiles thinking he's won. "I'll start packing the minute you say what I want to hear." I smile at him as he starts to frown. "Damn it all to hell. Vince said I had to come back with you and if I didn't I was in a lot of trouble. I really don't need any shit from the old man. So listen well because I'm only going to say this once. I need you because I can't keep my life organized without you. And maybe I used bad judgment in making Vince let you go."

"You maybe used bad judgment?" Mark growls at me. "Ok I used bad judgment and I was wrong happy now?" I walk past him and start packing. Once I'm finished he picks up my bags and takes them downstairs. I run around the house making sure everything is secure. I decide to call Amber later to tell her I left. When I'm finished I find Mark standing by the door. "I'm ready to go when you are." Mark just keeps looking at me. "So you got what you wanted right?" I nod my head at him. "Good because now I'm getting what I want." Before I can ask him what that is he's pulling me towards him and kissing me.


	22. When Reality Strikes part 22

Title: When Reality Strikes

When Mark pulls away it actually takes me a second to remember my name. Without saying anything to me he picks up my bags and walks outside to the limo. I just stare after him. I guess he realizes I'm not with him so he turns around and motions for me to hurry up then he steps into the limo. I lock the door and walk out to the car. The driver helps me get in and I just keep staring at Mark. "Is something wrong Erica?" When he talks I shake my head to clear my thoughts. "Why did you just kiss me?" Mark presses the button for the partition to go up between the driver and us. "I felt like it. And you didn't seem to have a problem with it either."

"You can't just go around kissing people just because you feel like it." Mark laughs at me. "And why not?" My mouth opens and shuts a few times. "Well because you just can't." This sets Mark off even more and his face turns red from laughing. "Well if that's the best you can come up with then I am going to keep doing whatever I want when I feel like it." I glare at him for a minute. "Do you have your schedule with you?" Mark goes to take it out of his bag but stops himself. "I'm not giving it to you till we get to the arena. I want you to enjoy yourself for once."

"Mark this is a job not a vacation. Give me your damn schedule or I won't get on the plane and you can explain why to Mr. McMahon." Mark hands me his schedule and I smile at him. "You know if I didn't know that smile had an evil intent behind it I would say it makes your whole face light up." I blush at his comment then look down at the sheet he had given me. "What the hell is this scribble? You're booked for two appearances at the same time. Now I know you like to think you can do everything but I would pay to see you pull this off." Mark starts to laugh at my muttering. "Darlin that's why the girl that did that is no longer with the company." As I start to make some calls I start to rethink my statement of telling Vince to keep his bonus.

We get on the plane and I demand to have the window seat. "Are you determined to annoy the hell out of me?" I look over at Mark and wink. "I think it just comes naturally. I'm debating if I should put that on my resume or not. What do you think?" Mark pretends to think it over for a minute. "Yeah I think putting I'm a professional pain in the ass on your resume is a good idea. In fact I highly recommend it." I smack his arm and stare out of the window. I can't believe we're actually sort of getting along. I start to get sleepy and close my eyes.

When I open them up again I realize I leaning on Mark. I had just been having this really erotic dream about him. "Did you have a nice nap?" I pull away from Mark and look at him. "Yeah it was ok." Mark smiles at me. "So did you have any interesting dreams?" Now I know he knows something. "Just spit it out Callaway." Mark leans over and runs his finger down my cheek. "Well I'm just wondering if you make it a habit of having dreams about me. I heard you moaning my name a few times." I start to blush. "How do you know I wasn't dreaming about another Mark?" Mark whispers in my ear. "Because besides moaning Mark I heard a few Takers being moaned too." Damn it. How do I get out of this one?


	23. When Reality Strikes part 23

Title: When Reality Strikes

"Oh look we're landing, you better buckle up." Mark pulls away. "I hope you don't think this means I will forget about this. In fact I can't wait to see Glenn to tell him you have naughty dreams about me. I'm sure he will get a kick out of it." I turn my head away so he can't see my blush. Amber had always told me I talked in my sleep but I never believed her. I look at Mark out of the corner of my eye and I can see the smirk on his face. He is going to be more obnoxious then usual now. Once we land I push him out of the seat so we can get off of the plane. When we get off I see a man holding up a sign with my name on it. "Hi I'm Erica." The man asks to see my ID and I show it to him. "Mr. McMahon sent me to pick you up and to bring you to the arena immediately. Follow me."

We go get my luggage and Mark trails behind us. Once we get outside the driver opens the door for me. When Mark goes to take a step into the car I stop him. "I'm sorry Mr. McMahon sent this car for me. He didn't mention anything about you." Mark starts to growl at me so I push him into the car. I love annoying him. "I'm impressed Vince never sends limo's to pick people up from the airport. He must really like you." The driver presses for the partition to go down. "Miss, Mr. McMahon requested that a bottle of champagne be on ice for you. If you look into the compartment to your right you should find it." With that said the partition goes back up. I lean over and open the compartment and sure enough there's a bottle of champagne. Mark takes it and opens it up. "Wow he must really love you to do this." I take a sip and look at Mark. "What's not to love?"

Mark starts to laugh. "Hmm maybe I can ask him to make me a list. But if he needs a list of reasons to dislike you then I'm your man." I lean over and pinch his cheek. "Come on admit it, you missed me. I know you did." Mark smacks my hand away. "I don't know what the hell you're talking about." I take another big sip of my drink and giggle. "I don't care what you say you missed me." After another two glasses I'm really feeling happy. I motion for Mark to lean over. "I'll let you in on a little secret. Even though you annoy me I missed you." Mark takes the glass out of my hand and places it in a holder. Before I know what's happening Mark is pulling me into his lap. "You're drunk." I start shaking my head. "No I'm not." And then I start to giggle.

Mark chuckles and then smiles at me. I lean up and whisper to him. "You look very sexy when you smile. But you know what I think is even sexier? When you get all dark and angry with me. It makes me hot." Mark leans forward and kisses me gently on the lips. "You're not going to remember any of this later are you?" I nod my head at him. "Probably not. Why?" Mark puts his hand in my hair and pulls my mouth towards his. "I don't need you yelling at me for doing this." We kiss for so long I have to pull away to get air. Mark starts playing with my hair. "And since you won't remember any of this I can let you in on a little secret too. I did miss you and I'm glad you're back. You get to me in a way no woman ever has and I can't get you out of my head."

I smile and pat his cheek and fall asleep. When I come too Mark is shaking me telling me we're at the arena. He helps me out of the car and we go inside. Mark walks with me down to Vince's office. I tell him I will catch up to him later. Before I go in Mark stops me. "Do you remember anything that happened in the car?" I scrunch up my nose and tilt my head. "No everything seems kind of fuzzy. Should I remember anything?" Mark looks relieved and tells me no. I knock and go into Vince's office. He welcomes me back and I thank him for the limo. I take out Mark's schedule that I had worked on in the car on the way to the airport. "I've fixed everything so if you want to look it over here you go."

Vince takes it and checks it over. "You're amazing. And now that I have you here I want to apologize in person for what happened. You are feeling better right?" I nod my head. "Well now that I have you in front of me I have something for you." Vince pulls out a folder and hands me the papers. "I want to sign you to a full time contract. Feel free to look it over." I sit back in the chair and read through it. Everything seems on the up and up so I sign my name on the dotted line. Vince shakes my hand. "Welcome back to the WWE Erica." I thank him and leave.

On my way down to Mark's locker room I hear my name being called. When I turn around I'm crushed into a bear hug. "Hey Paul. I'm guessing you're excited to see me?" He puts me down and looks at me. " Are you here to stay this time?" I loop my arm through his and we walk down the hallway. "I'm sorry to say all of you are stuck with me. How have my girls been doing?" Paul takes me to the diva's locker room and tells me he will see me later. I knock on the door and peek my head in. When Trish and Amy see me they yank me into the room. "I'm so glad your back." I hug Trish and then Amy. We all sit down talking for a while and then I tell them I better go check on Mark.

When I get down to his locker room I walk in and see him and Glenn. Glenn rushes over and hugs me like Paul did. When he puts me down I see the dark look on Mark's face. Before another fight breaks out I step away from Glenn. "I'm heading down to the cafeteria to eat. Care to join me?" I agree to go with Glenn and turn back to Mark. "Want to come with us?" Mark shakes his head. "That's ok I have some stuff to do." Glenn and I leave and I stop and tell I will catch up with him. I run back to the locker room and Mark is sitting on a bench facing away from me. I walk up behind him and lean down to whisper in his ear. "I know why you don't want to have lunch with us. It's because I affect you so much." Mark tenses up. "What the hell are you talking about Erica?" I make sure to go stand next to the door before I talk. "Well you said so yourself I affect you in a way no woman ever has. Oh and you missed me, we can't forget that part." Mark stands up and comes towards me. "I thought you said you didn't remember what happened in the car?" I pull the door open and get ready to run. "I lied."


	24. When Reality Strikes part 24

Title: When Reality Strikes

As soon as I see Mark take a step towards me I bolt out of the room and run down to the cafeteria. I get my food and go sit next to Glenn. When I see the shadow come over me I try not to tense up. Mark takes the seat across from me. "That wasn't nice running out on me like that Erica." I shrug my shoulders. "You're a big boy I'm sure you will get over it." Mark smiles at me and I think my heart stops for a second. Then his gaze switches over to Glenn. "Glenn I forgot to tell you I learned the most interesting thing about Erica today on the plane." I'm sure my eyes are as big as saucers as soon as I hear this. I jump up from my chair and run over to put my hand over Mark's mouth. When he licks my hand I still keep it in place. He starts struggling with me and before I know it I'm in his lap.

Paul walks over to us. "I knew the two of you would resort to violence sooner or later. Should I tell Vince to book another match for tonight?" I try to get out of Mark's lap but he holds onto me tight. "Paul I think you should sit down. You may enjoy this." Paul occupies the seat I was just in. "Anyway Erica fell asleep on the plane and she started moaning in her sleep. Now she wasn't just moaning any name she was moaning the big dogs name. It seems Erica has erotic dreams about me. Isn't that right sweetheart?" Mark pats my cheek similar to what I did to him in the car. "I hate you, you do know that right?" Paul and Glenn start laughing their asses off. " So Erica should I tell Trish your love affair is over?" I glare at Paul. "I think that joke has gone stale. Besides I think Amy is hotter now." I start laughing at the expression on Paul's face. "I'm kidding stupid."

Glenn holds his hand up to stop our bickering. "Let's get back to the case at hand. You have erotic dreams about Mark? So are they kinky? Am I ever in them?" I start shaking my head. I can't believe the people I work with sometimes. "You know when I used to watch you on TV I thought you would be one of the normal ones. Boy was I ever wrong." I try to get up again and when Mark won't let go I grab his ear. He lets me go and starts rubbing his ear. "Please don't tell me that hurt? Anyway my dreams are my business. Now if you will excuse me I have things to do." I go to walk away but before I do I walk back over and put my arms around Glenn and Paul. "I will tell you one thing, Mark wasn't the only one in my dreams. Sometimes you both made special guest appearances." At their shocked expressions I walk away laughing.

I walk back down to Mark's locker room and realize I took care of everything I had to do. I sit down on the couch and try to relax while I have the time. When the door opens I fully expect Mark to come strolling in and he does but he's not alone. He walks in with a tall blonde with breasts I'm sure God didn't bless her with. I want to get the girl a towel or something because it looks like she barely has any clothes on. I think she may catch a cold. I get up off of the couch. Mark looks a little uncomfortable. I decide to introduce myself because it looks like he isn't going to. "Hi I'm Erica." She eyes me up and down for a minute. "Oh so you're Erica. Mark's always telling me what a bitch you are. Honestly I don't think you're that ugly so I don't know what he's talking about. Anyway I'm Tiffany his girlfriend."


	25. When Reality Strikes part 25

Author's Note: I just wanted to take a second to thank everyone thats been reviewing the story. I really hope you guys keep on enjoying the story and I don't bore you to death. J/K I know shut up and get to the new chapter so enjoy.

Title: When Reality Strikes

My gaze slides over to Mark. "Girlfriend huh? I didn't realize Mark was seeing anyone." Tiffany wraps her arm around his waist; a move that blatantly says he's mine. "Well why would he? You're just the hired help. He doesn't have to answer to you." I would love to smack the smirk off of her face but I keep it together. I guess Mark isn't as dumb as he looks because he can see how pissed I'm getting and sends Tiffany off to get something to eat. Once she's gone he takes a step towards me. "Don't you dare come near me. You have some nerve kissing me when you have a girlfriend. Just when I started to believe you weren't such an asshole after all and that maybe we could be friends you pull a stunt like this."

"Erica it's not what you think. Tiffany isn't my girlfriend. Yeah I've been sleeping with her but she's not my girlfriend. You have to believe me." I can't see past the hurt right now. "Well like she said I'm just the hired help so who cares what I think?" When I start to feel tears prick my eyes I turn away. Mark puts his hand on my shoulder and I step away from his touch. "You know you're not just hired help to me. Don't believe anything she said to you." I summon up all of the strength I have and turn to him. "So are you telling me you didn't tell her I was a bitch?" Mark starts to rub the back of his neck and starts to pace. "Ok maybe I did say you were a bitch but.."

"And we can't forget the part about me being ugly. Its ok though I don't care what you think about me." That's when I feel the tears streaming down my face. Mark sees this and walks over to me. He grabs onto my shoulders and leans down in to my face. "That's bullshit because if you didn't care then you wouldn't be crying. If you will just let me explain about what I said to her then you will understand." I look into his eyes and I so desperately want to believe him but I just can't. "There's nothing to explain. As of now we have a business relationship and that's it. So please don't touch me ever again." Mark tightens up his grip on me. "Oh no you're not shutting down on me. Don't think I am going to let you go all professional on me. When we kiss you feel something just like I do. We've been playing this cat and mouse game for too long. I'm willing to lay it on the line. I want you."

I push at Mark and start to walk towards the door. "You're such a fool. You could have had me but you ruined it when you decided to have a girlfriend. Now I have things to do so I will see you later Mr. Callaway." I start down the hallway and realize I don't know where I'm going. I come across the ladies room so I duck into there. I walk into one of the stalls and start to cry. I really started to think maybe there could have been something between Mark and I but he has a girlfriend and he thinks I'm a bitch. And it hurts more then I would like it to know he thinks I'm ugly. I guess he was just desperate for a bed partner. It would have been the perfect set up. He fucks me at night and during the day I'm like his personal slave. When I hear the bathroom door open I try to muffle my crying.

"Erica is that you?" I recognize Trish's voice. "Would it help if I said no?" Trish pushes on the door and tells me to unlock it. I open the door and walk towards her. "How did you know it was me?" She points down and tells me she recognized my shoes. "Now are you going to explain to me why I found you in the bathroom crying?" I walk over to the sink and put it on. I lean down and splash some water on my face. "Did you know Mark was seeing someone?" Trish looks shocked. "No I didn't." I tell her about meeting his girlfriend and everything that happened after that. "Trish I just don't understand it. The way he kisses me, it was the type of kisses that made me feel like I was the only woman in the world. Then he would go open his big mouth and I would get pissed at him but yet still want him to kiss me again."

"Erica it's obvious to all of us that you guys have this chemistry between the two of you. I don't know what's going on with him. Maybe you should let him tell you what he has to say. What could it hurt?" I tell her I will think about and that's when we hear the pyros going off so we know the show has started. Trish tells me to call her later and rushes off to get ready for her match. I walk down to Mark's locker room and when I go in I prepare myself to see his girlfriend. Instead it's just Mark and Glenn. I go sit on the couch and watch the monitor. I can feel both men looking at me but I try to block it out.

Glenn leaves for his match leaving Mark and I alone. He comes to sit next to me on the couch and places his hand on my leg. "Erica we need to talk." I go to tell him there's nothing to say but Tiffany picks that moment to return. I get up and tell them I am going to go back to the hotel early unless Mark has something for me to do. He shakes his head but I can tell he wants to say something. I take a cab back to the hotel and change for bed. I put the TV on and watch RAW. Once it's over I turn off the light and try to fall asleep. I jump out of my sleep when someone starts banging on my door. I walk over and look through the peephole. I unlock the door and stare at Mark. "Is there something I can help you with?" Mark pushes past and walks into the room. "I have some things to say to you and you're going to listen." I go to tell him to get out but judging by the look in his eyes I better sit down and listen to what he has to say.


	26. When Reality Strikes part 26

Title: When Reality Strikes

"I really don't have a choice in listening to you or not do I?" Mark smiles at me and shakes his head. "So let's just say I run out of this room?" Mark starts to walk towards me. "Then darlin I would chase you into the hallway and throw you over my shoulder and bring you right back here. I'm starting to lose my patience and we don't want that happening again now do we?" Instead of answering him I walk back towards my bed and sit down. When Mark tries to join me I point to the chair across the room. "You may be forcing me to listen to you but that doesn't mean I have to sit next to your ass either."

Mark goes and sits in the chair. I cross my arms over my chest and glare at him. "Anytime you would like to start talking would be great?" When Mark starts to growl at me I growl right now. "Ok first off I am going to explain this to you again. Tiffany is not my girlfriend. It gets lonely on the road and I had been feeling frustrated for a while so she was willing and I don't see anything wrong with that. She's just a warm body to me." God he's such a pig. "So is this your way of explaining all of the times you've kissed me? I was just a warm body and you were horny?"

"Woman can you keep your mouth shut for more then five minutes?" I pretend to zip my mouth up and throw away the key. "If only it was that easy to get you to shut up Erica. Anyway you're a totally different story then Tiffany. She means nothing to me." I lift my eyebrow at him. Is this his way of saying I mean something to him? " With you, hell you drive me crazy. I admit it. Half the time I'm not sure if I want to kill you or kiss the hell out of you. I don't know where these feelings are coming from and I don't know what they mean. But the one thing I know I can admit is that I want you. I want you in bed." Did it just get hot in here?

I raise my hand for permission to speak. Mark chuckles and nods at me. "If you want me in your bed like you say then why did you call me a bitch and say you thought I was ugly?" I know I sound like an insecure teenager but I just can't help it. "Erica are you telling me the entire time we've known each other you haven't called me a name or two?" I bit my lip and shake my head. "That's exactly what I'm talking about. Once you were home I realized how much I had come to depend on you in such a short time. Everyone else Vince sent my way didn't measure up to you. If I yelled at them they would cower in the corner. You would just yell right back at me and I need that. So when I met Tiffany I would bitch about you trying to convince myself I didn't need your help. So yes I did call you a bitch but I'm sure you've called me worse."

When I go to open my mouth again Mark interrupts me. "As for me saying you were unattractive that's a little more involved. From the minute I saw you during Wrestlemania weekend I wanted you. Then before I knew it we were working together. We shared a few kisses before you were gone and I thought that would have been enough to get you out of my system but I was wrong. My body was aching and it could only be satisfied by you. And since you weren't here I found Tiffany. Normally I'm not into the ring rats but like I said I was aching. And after every time I slept with Tiffany I was hoping the ache would be gone but instead I would be left wishing she was you. Of course since I couldn't have you I bitched about you and said I thought you were unattractive. But I didn't mean any of it."

Oh lord he wants me and wants me badly. "Well now I'm done talking so if you want to yell or scream or kick me out of your room go right ahead." I get up wordlessly and walk over to the door. Mark takes this as me throwing him out but when I turn the lock his mouth drops open in shock. "Now darlin I hope I'm reading you the right way but if I'm not then you better tell me now." I pull off my tank top and throw it across the room. "Was that an easy enough clue for you?" Mark rips his shirt off and is across the room before I can blink. He picks me up and throws me on the bed. "You better find something to hold onto darlin because it's going to be a rough ride." I smirk at him. "Like the Rock says just bring it."

The next morning I roll over and wince at the soreness between my legs but then I remember what caused the pain and I smile. I open my eyes and realize I'm in bed alone. I sit up and call out Mark's name but then I see his clothes are gone. I guess he didn't want to get the gossip mill running so he left early. I lean over and call his room. When I hear Tiffany pick up I slam the receiver down. That bastard he thinks he can have his cake and eat it too. Well I'll show him.


	27. When Reality Strikes part 27

Title: When Reality Strikes

I sit in my bed fuming for a few minutes then I throw back the covers and go take a shower. Once I'm dressed I pack up my stuff and head down to the lobby. I ask the clerk for the address for the nearest car rental place. Once I have it I go head out to the front of the hotel and hail a cab. I take the cab to the car rental dealership and rent myself a car. When I get out onto the highway I start to rethink everything. That damn bastard got what he wanted. He wanted me in bed and he got me there. I smack the wheel frustrated with myself for giving in. I feel sick to my stomach when I think about how I threw myself at him last night.

I put the earphone piece into my ear for my cell phone and call Amber. When she answers I just start to cry. "Erica sweetie is that you? Calm down." I get my crying down to sniffles. "I'm sorry I didn't mean to flip out. I just needed to talk to someone." Amber tells me to take a few calming breathes and then start to talk. "Ok I'm calm now. I guess there's no way to say this. I slept with Mark last night." Amber starts screaming over the phone then stops herself. "Wait if you just fulfilled your deepest fantasy then how come you're calling me crying instead of screaming along with me?"

"Well you didn't let me get to the part about him having a girlfriend. Wait I'm sorry he just fucks her. Anyway this morning when I woke up he was gone so I decided to call his room. And little miss bitch face picked up the phone. The asshole probably went to her bed right after mine. I feel so stupid. I saw how he treated that woman at the bar when I first saw him. I should have realized that's how he really is but no stupid me tries to see the good in people and where does that get me? Absolutely nowhere." Amber sighs on the other end of the phone. "Erica we've known each other practically forever. I know you put out this tough badass bitch exterior but I know on the inside you have the biggest heart of anyone I know. You always put yourself out there but still try to protect yourself. Part of me is jealous you still have that part of innocence about you. Don't let Mark take that away from you. You just go up to him and tell his sorry ass that you know he's a two timing whore."

I can't help myself and start laughing. "I love you Amber. You always know the right thing to say. I don't know what I would do without you." My cell phone beeps and when I look down at the caller ID I realize its Mark. "Amber his royal highness is on the other line. I think I am going to let him worry for a little bit. But I am going to hang up now. I'll call you later and thanks for the pep talk." We say our good-byes and I hang up. My phone starts beeping that I have voicemail and I press the button to hear it. "Erica its Mark. I came by your room this morning and you didn't answer. When I went down to the front desk they said you checked out. I'm getting a little worried baby. Please call me to let me know you're ok."

I erase the message and drive the rest of the way with Mark on my mind.


	28. When Reality Strikes part 28

My mouth drops open in shock and I turn to walk out the door. When I get to the door I open it and then slam it shut and turn back towards Mark. " You have some fucking nerve." Mark goes to open his mouth but I put my hand up to silence him. "No, you had your say and now it's my turn. First off when I woke up this morning you were gone from my room so I didn't run out on you, you ran out on me. Secondly I called your room to talk to you and Tiffany answered the phone so yeah I guess you could say I was a little pissed off by now. I packed up my shit and I left. I ran into Glenn at the gym and he explained everything to me so I had every intent on apologizing to you for making you worry for nothing. But after what you just said to me I think you owe me an apology too."

When I feel the tears come this time I let them fall. " I slept with you because I like you Mark Callaway not the American Bad Ass, Phenom, or the god damn Undertaker. And if you couldn't realize that last night then you never will. It wasn't just sex last night and you admitted that yourself so you must have a very low opinion of me if you think I just whore myself out to any big superstar because honey if I did there are a lot more younger and hotter guys here then you." I feel bad when I see Mark cringe at my last comment. "I'm sorry I shouldn't have said that. It was uncalled for. I really don't feel like that. I'm just hurt and tired." I feel all of the anger wash out of me and now I just feel emotionally exhausted. " I have to go see Vince about your schedule so I will leave now. If you want to forget everything from last night then that's fine."

Mark puts his hands on his hips and just glares at me. "Ok I am only going to say this one last thing since it looks like you aren't going to say anything. I admit I had a crush on the Undertaker but when I went to bed last night I went to bed with Mark. You might know him, annoying pain in the ass that likes to yell a lot?" I see Mark's lips start to tilt into a smile. He motions with his hand for me to keep going. " Believe it or not I am not like all of the other women that have been in your life. I know the difference between your character and you, yet I have to admit sometimes the lines get a little blurry but in the end I always choose Mark. I'm sorry if you were hurt this morning but I was hurt too."

Mark starts to walk towards me and leans down and kisses me. " Is this your way of saying all is forgiven?" He smiles at me and nods. I lean up and put my arms around his neck and pull his face down to mine. "Well I know a way this can be prevented in the future."

"And what little crazy idea is floating around in that head of yours now?" I poke him in the stomach. "I will let that comment slide for now. Anyway to prevent this from happening again next time just don't leave my bed in the morning." Mark throws his head back and laughs. He picks me up and walks over to the couch with me in his lap. " For once I agree with you. And now that we've made up its time to move on to my favorite part of the process." He lays me down on the couch and settles above me. " And what part is that?" He leans down and kisses me on my lips. " The make-up sex." I start to laugh and before we can do anything else Glenn comes walking into the room.

"Don't you know how to knock anymore?" Glenn puts his hands up in front of him. "Hey I was just being a concerned friend. When I walked passed the door I didn't hear any yelling so I was coming in to help bury the dead body." Mark gets up off of me and hauls me up into a sitting position. " I could have gotten rid of her body without your help Glenn but I appreciate it." Glenn winks at me. "Actually I meant I was coming to help Erica. I think it would be a little hard for her to drag your big ass out of the building." I start laughing and when Mark gets up to go after Glenn I jump between the two of them. "Now boys, stop fighting. I do admit I've had fantasies about the two of your fighting over me but now is not the time."

Glenn starts to scratch his chin. "Now that you mention it you never did tell me what I did when I appeared in your dreams." Him and Mark both cross their arms and stare at me. I start laughing. What in the hell am I ever going to do with these two?


End file.
